Physical Chemistry Seminar: Plant Tropisms as a Window on Memory, Computation, and Actuation in Distributed Systems
Prof. Yasmine Meroz, School of Plant Science and Food Security, TAU; Center for Physics and Chemistry of Living Systems, TAU
Zoom: https://tau-ac-il.zoom.us/j/87820055721?pwd=kewAaVRPgfvQXtUuQD41aWPtcLcecQ.1
Abstract:
Plants perform complex navigational problem-solving, such as deciding on an optimal growth direction for maximal photosynthesis - when exposed to multiple fluctuating light sources in continuously changing environments. While they have no brain or neural system, they can sense their environment, process sensory information, and plan strategic growth movements. Since plants are distributed systems, with no central control center, underlying computational processes must be emergent properties of the tissue. In this talk I will give an overview of some of our recent findings in the lab, encompassing (i) plant movement as a combination of active growth and passive mechanics, underpinning interactions with obstacles, (ii) integration of sensory information over space and time, and (iii) collective behavior of crowded plants.
Seminar Organizer: Dr. Barak Hirshberg
