Plants 'Do Maths'

[Bot]

Plants have a built-in capacity to do maths, which helps them regulate food reserves at night, research suggests.



UK scientists were "amazed" to find an example of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation in biology.

Overnight, when the plant cannot use energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into the sugars and starch it needs, it must instead regulate its starch reserves to ensure they last until dawn. Mathematical models show that the amount of starch consumed overnight is calculated by division in a process involving leaf chemicals, it was reported. A similar method is used by birds to regulate fat levels during migration.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/0...95M02Q20130623

[T.B.W]

This is very interesting