Greg Gage: Electrical experiments with plants that count and communicate

Electrical experiments with plants that count and communicate

Neuroscientist Greg Gage takes sophisticated equipment used to study the brain out of graduate-level labs and brings them to middle- and high-school classrooms (and, sometimes, to the TED stage.) Prepare to be amazed as he hooks up the Mimosa pudica, a plant whose leaves close when touched, and the Venus flytrap to an EKG to show us how plants use electrical signals to convey information, prompt movement and even count.

Plants like the Venus flytrap and Mimosa pudica don't have brains, but they harness electrical signals to process information and respond to their environment. The Venus flytrap can count touches on its trigger hairs, closing only when two occur within seconds, saving precious energy. Scientists have even connected these signals between plants, making one plant react to the other's stimulus. These discoveries reveal that plants use electrical communication in surprisingly complex ways, blurring the line between plant and animal intelligence.