[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5969\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EPlants can \u2018hear\u2019 running water\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Between 100 and 400 hertz (cycles per second) plant roots were able to detect sounds and also to grow towards the source of the sound,\u2019 said Professor Stefano Mancuso, a researcher at the PLEASED project, which is working out ways to exploit the sensing abilities of plants.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor over 100 years, researchers have known that plants produce electrical signals when exposed to a change in environmental conditions, such as increased heat from forest fires. These electrical signals are to some extent similar to human electromyography\u0026nbsp;or EMG signals that record electrical activity of the skeletal muscles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe PLEASED researchers have been recording the electrical signals produced by plants and analysing how they react to different stimuli, such as sulphuric acid that is related to acid rain. They do it by placing electrodes on the leaves of for example a sunflower plant, and then applying a stimulus, such as a flame, close to the leaves and monitoring the changes in the signal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project, funded under the EU\u2019s Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) initiative, which supports research that challenges current thinking, has found that plants also react to the sound of water. They played the sound of running water to plants and found that the roots started to grow towards the source of the sound, suggesting that roots react to the acoustics of their environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey hope to use this information to turn the plants into sensors inside the soil, \u2018listening\u2019 out for underground water and checking acidity by attaching small, simple and cheap devices to the roots that can collect and store information on changing environmental conditions. Plant biosensors will open the door to a sustainable method for environmental monitoring.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Plant roots were able to detect sounds and also to grow towards the source of the sound.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Stefano Mancuso, researcher, PLEASED and PLANTOID \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPlantoid\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, the sensing ability of plants is also helping researchers to develop a soil-exploration robot for earth. The robot, being developed as part of the FET-funded PLANTOID project,\u0026nbsp;coordinated by Dr Barbara Mazzolai from Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia,\u0026nbsp;mimics the behaviour of roots to monitor environmental conditions underneath the ground. The technology could one day be used for missions on planets in outer space to search for underground water.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Root systems do not grow randomly and knowledge of why roots move is crucial for a successful subterranean robot,\u2019 said Prof. Mancuso, who is also a researcher on the PLANTOID project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project hopes to produce a prototype soil-exploration robot by next year, and the technology could be used to make a space robot explore under the soil of a planet for evidence of water or life, or to detect pollutants in earth soils.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs well as sensing, the project is looking to plants for inspiration on how to move underground.\u0026nbsp;Plant root systems can move through the soil very efficiently by growing from their tips - they slowly increase the pressure on the soil to move through it by changing direction, adding cells to lengthen the side of their root tips in an opposite direction to that in which they are travelling.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPLANTOID researchers have observed that a corn root can grow up to five centimetres per day. In order to mimic this efficient growth, PLANTOID is developing an artificial root that uses a combination of robotics\u0026nbsp;technologies and\u0026nbsp;smart materials\u0026nbsp;to simulate biological movement through soil.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPlant-versation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, the way by which individual roots communicate with one another has shown some surprising results. Using very sensitive measurement techniques normally used to study insect hearing, Prof. Mancuso and researchers at Bristol University recorded\u0026nbsp;roots emitting a continuous clicking sound as part of a separate study. This has led to the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cell.com\/trends\/plant-science\/abstract\/S1360-1385(12)00054-4\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ehypothesis \u003C\/a\u003Ethat these clicks act as localisation cues for roots, allowing them to liaise with each other as they move through the earth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We were able to demonstrate that roots use a kind of swarming behaviour in a way not so different from the way a swarm of ants is able to do it,\u2019 said Prof. Mancuso. The roots explore the soil efficiently without growing too far apart or close together to find nutrients, this coordination is similar to insect-swarm behaviour.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EInterview with Barbara Mazzolai, coordinator of the PLANTOID project.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ciframe src=\u0022https:\/\/europa.eu\/webtools\/crs\/iframe\/?oriurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FUB7B7TJ-nN4\u0022 width=\u0022379\u0022 height=\u0022312\u0022 frameborder=\u00220\u0022\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-aiiaybwm9ayicc3d2lniquj1okudz6rmpzg5n1msumy\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-AiIAYbWm9AYiCc3d2lNIqUj1OkuDz6rMpzG5n1mSuMY\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]