Stefano Mancuso: The roots of plant intelligence

Prevoditelj: Ariana Crvenka Recezent: Tilen Pigac - EFZG

Sometimes I go browsing

Ponekad idem prelistavati

[through] a very old magazine.

jako stari časopis.

I found this observation test

Našao sam ovaj test opažanja

about the story of the ark.

o priči o arci.

And the artist that drew this observation test

Umjetnik koji je naslikao taj test opažanja

did some errors, had some mistakes --

napravio je neke pogreške.

there are more or less 12 mistakes.

Ima više manje 12 grešaka.

Some of them are very easy.

Neke od njih su vrlo lake.

There is a funnel, an aerial part,

Tu je dimnjak, dio antene,

a lamp and clockwork key on the ark.

lampa i satni mehanizam na arci.

Some of them are about the animals, the number.

Neke od njih su u vezi životinja, njihovog broja.

But there is a much more fundamental mistake

Ali postoji puno bitnija greška

in the overall story of the ark

u cjelokupnoj priči o arci

that's not reported here.

koja ovdje nije navedena.

And this problem is: where are the plants?

A taj problem glasi: gdje su biljke?

So now we have God

Tako da imamo Boga

that is going to submerge Earth permanently

koji će potopiti Zemlju trajno

or at least for a very long period,

ili barem na vrlo dugo vrijeme,

and no one is taking care of plants.

a nitko se ne brine o biljkama.

Noah needed to take two of every kind of bird,

Noa je trebao uzeti par od svake vrste ptica,

of every kind of animal,

svake vrste životinja,

of every kind of creature that moves,

svake vrste stvorenja koje se kreće,

but no mention about plants.

ali ni spomena o biljkama.

Why?

Zašto?

In another part of the same story,

U drugom dijelu iste priče

all the living creatures

sva živa bića

are just the living creatures

su samo živa bića

that came out from the ark,

koja su izašla iz arke,

so birds, livestock and wild animals.

dakle, ptice, domaće i divlje životinje.

Plants are not living creatures --

Biljke nisu živa bića.

this is the point.

U tom je poanta.

That is a point that is not

To je poanta koja

coming out from the Bible,

ne proizlazi iz Biblije,

but it's something that

ali to je nešto što

really accompanied humanity.

je uvijek pratilo čovječanstvo.

Let's have a look at this nice code

Pogledajmo ovaj krasan kodeks

that is coming from a Renaissance book.

koji dolazi iz renesansne knjige.

Here we have the description

Ovdje imamo opis

of the order of nature.

poretka u prirodi.

It's a nice description because it's starting from left --

To je lijepi opis jer počinje s lijeva --

you have the stones --

imate kamenje --

immediately after the stones, the plants

odmah nakon kamenja, biljke

that are just able to live.

koje su sposobne samo živjeti.

We have the animals that are able to live and to sense,

Imamo životinje koje su sposobne živjeti i osjećati,

and on the top of the pyramid,

a na vrhu piramide

there is the man.

je čovjek.

This is not the common man.

To nije običan čovjek.

The "Homo studiosus" -- the studying man.

To je "Homo studiosus" -- čovjek koji uči.

This is quite comforting

Prilično je utješno

for people like me -- I'm a professor --

za ljude poput mene -- ja sam profesor --

this to be over there on the top of creation.

da to bude tamo na vrhu kreacije.

But it's something completely wrong.

Ali to je nešto potpuno pogrešno.

You know very well about professors.

Znate jako dobro za profesore.

But it's also wrong about plants,

Ali također je pogrešno i u vezi biljaka,

because plants are not just able to live;

jer biljke nisu sposobne samo živjeti;

they are able to sense.

one su sposobne osjećati.

They are much more sophisticated

One su puno profinjenije

in sensing than animals.

u osjećanju od životinja.

Just to give you an example,

Samo da vam dam primjer,

every single root apex

svaki vršak korijena

is able to detect and to monitor

u stanju je otkriti i nadzirati,

concurrently and continuously

istovremeno i neprestano,

at least 15 different chemical

barem 15 različitih kemijskih

and physical parameters.

i fizičkih čimbenika.

And they also are able to show and to exhibit

A također su sposobni pokazati i predočiti

such a wonderful and complex behavior

tako prekrasno i složeno ponašanje

that can be described just with the term of intelligence.

koje se može opisati samo pojmom inteligencije.

Well, but this is something --

Ali to je nešto --

this underestimation of plants is something

to podcjenjivanje biljaka je nešto

that is always with us.

što je uvijek s nama.

Let's have a look at this short movie now.

Pogledajmo sada ovaj kratki film.

We have David Attenborough.

Imamo David Attenborougha.

Now David Attenborough is really a plant lover;

David Attenborough. je stvarno ljubitelj biljaka.

he did some of the most beautiful movies

Snimio je neke od najljepših filmova

about plant behavior.

o ponašanju biljaka.

Now, when he speaks about plants,

Kada on govori o biljkama

everything is correct.

sve je točno.

When he speaks about animals,

Kada govori o životinjama

[he] tends to remove the fact

sklon je zanemariti činjenicu

that plants exist.

da biljke postoje.

The blue whale,

Plavi kit,

the biggest creature that exists on the planet --

najveće stvorenje koje postoji na planeti.

that is wrong, completely wrong.

To je pogrešno, potpuno pogrešno.

The blue whale, it's a dwarf

Plavi kit, on je patuljak

if compared with the real biggest creature

u usporedbi sa stvarno najvećim stvorenjem

that exists on the planet --

koje postoji na planeti --

that is, this wonderful,

to je ova predivna,

magnificent Sequoiadendron giganteum.

čarobna gigantska sekvoja (Sequoiadendron giganteum).

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

And this is a living organism

To je živući organizam

that has a mass of at least 2,000 tons.

koji ima masu od barem 2.000 tona.

Now, the story

Priču o tome

that plants are some low-level organisms

da su biljke nekakvi organizmi niže razine

has been formalized

formulirao je

many times ago by Aristotle,

davno Aristotel,

that in "De Anima" --

koji je u knjizi "O duši" ("De Anima") --

that is a very influential book for the Western civilization --

koja je vrlo utjecajna knjiga za zapadnu civilizaciju --

wrote that the plants are on the edge

napisao da su biljke na granici

between living and not living.

između življenja i ne-življenja.

They have just a kind of very low-level soul.

Da imaju samo neku vrstu duše vrlo niske razine.

It's called the vegetative soul,

Nazvana je vegetativnom dušom,

because they lack movement,

jer biljkama nedostaje kretanje,

and so they don't need to sense.

pa zato ne trebaju osjećati.

Let's see.

Da vidimo.

Okay, some of the movements of the plants are very well-known.

U redu, neki pokreti biljaka su vrlo dobro poznati.

This is a very fast movement.

Ovo je vrlo brzi pokret.

This is a Dionaea, a Venus fly trap

Ovo je biljka mesožderka (Dionaea)

hunting snails --

u lovu na puževe.

sorry for the snail.

Oprostite zbog puža.

This has been something that has been refused for centuries,

Ovo je nešto što se stoljećima odbijalo

despite the evidence.

unatoč dokazu.

No one can say that the plants were able to eat an animal,

Nitko nije mogao reći da su biljke sposobne pojesti životinju,

because it was against the order of nature.

jer je to protivno prirodnom poretku.

But plants are also able

Ali biljke su također sposobne

to show a lot of movement.

pokazati mnoge pokrete.

Some of them are very well known, like the flowering.

Neki od njih su vrlo dobro poznati, poput cvjetanja.

It's just a question to use some techniques

To je samo pitanje uporabe nekih tehnika

like the time lapse.

kao što je vremenski interval.

Some of them are much more sophisticated.

Neki od njih su puno profinjeniji.

Look at this young bean

Pogledajte ovaj mladi grah

that is moving to catch the light every time.

koji se kreće kako bi svaki put uhvatio svjetlost.

And it's really so graceful;

A stvarno je tako uglađen.

it's like a dancing angel.

Poput anđela koji pleše.

They are also able to play --

Biljke su sposobne i igrati se.

they are really playing.

One se zaista igraju.

These are young sunflowers,

Ovo su mladi suncokreti,

and what they are doing

a to što oni rade

cannot be described

ne može se opisati

with any other terms than playing.

nijednim drugim pojmom osim igranja.

They are training themselves,

Oni se uvježbavaju,

as many young animals do,

kao što to čine mnogi mladunci,

to the adult life

za odrasli život

where they will be called to track the sun

kada će trebati pratiti sunce

all the day.

cijeli dan.

They are able to respond to gravity, of course,

Biljke su, naravno, sposobne reagirati i na gravitaciju,

so the shoots are growing

pa izdanci rastu

against the vector of gravity

suprotno vektoru gravitacije,

and the roots toward the vector of gravity.

a korijenje u smjeru vektora gravitacije.

But they are also able to sleep.

One su također sposobne i spavati.

This is one, Mimosa pudica.

Ovo je mimoza stidljivka (Mimosa pudica).

So during the night,

Noću

they curl the leaves

ona smota lišće

and reduce the movement,

i smanji kretanje,

and during the day, you have the opening of the leaves --

a danju otvara lišće --

there is much more movement.

tu je puno više kretanja.

This is interesting

To je zanimljivo

because this sleeping machinery,

zato što je taj spavajući stroj

it's perfectly conserved.

savršeno čuvan.

It's the same in plants, in insects

Isto je sa biljkama, insektima

and in animals.

i životinjama.

And so if you need to study this sleeping problem,

Pa, ako trebate proučavati taj problem spavanja,

it's easy to study on plants, for example,

lakše je proučavati biljke, na primjer,

than in animals

nego životinje,

and it's much more easy even ethically.

a puno je lakše, pa čak i više etički.

It's a kind of vegetarian

To je vrsta vegetarijanskog

experimentation.

eksperimentiranja.

Plants are even able to communicate --

Biljke su čak sposobne komunicirati.

they are extraordinary communicators.

One su izvanredni komunikatori.

They communicate with other plants.

One komuniciraju sa drugim biljkama.

They are able to distinguish kin and non-kin.

Sposobne su razlikovati srodne i nesrodne biljke.

They communicate

One komuniciraju

with plants of other species

sa biljkama i drugim vrstama,

and they communicate with animals

a sa životinjama komuniciraju

by producing chemical volatiles,

proizvodeći kemijska isparavanja,

for example, during the pollination.

na primjer, za vrijeme oprašivanja.

Now with the pollination, it's a very serious issue for plants,

Oprašivanje je vrlo ozbiljno pitanje za biljke,

because they move the pollen from one flower to the other,

jer raznose pelud s jednog cvijeta na drugi,

yet they cannot move from one flower to the other.

iako se ne mogu kretati od jednog do drugog cvijeta.

So they need a vector --

Stoga trebaju vektor,

and this vector,

a taj vektor

it's normally an animal.

je obično životinja.

Many insects

Mnoge insekte

have been used by plants as vectors

biljke koriste kao vektore

for the transport of the pollination,

kao transport za oprašivanje,

but not just insects; even birds, reptiles,

ali ne samo insekte; čak i ptice, gušteri

and mammals like bats rats

i sisavci poput šišmiša

are normally used for the transportation of the pollen.

obično se koriste za prijenos peluda.

This is a serious business.

To je ozbiljan posao.

We have the plants that are giving to the animals

Imamo biljke koje životinjama daju

a kind of sweet substance --

neku vrstu slatke tvari --

very energizing --

vrlo energetske --

having in change this transportation of the pollen.

u zamjenu za taj prijenos peluda.

But some plants are manipulating animals,

Ali neke biljke manipuliraju životinjama,

like in the case of orchids

kao što je slučaj s orhidejama

that promise sex and nectar

koje obećavaju seks i nektar,

and give in change nothing

a ne daju ništa u zamjenu

for the transportation of the pollen.

za prijenos peluda.

Now, there is a big problem

Postoji veliki problem

behind all this behavior that we have seen.

iza svog tog ponašanja koje smo vidjeli.

How is it possible to do this without a brain?

Kako je to moguće činiti bez mozga?

We need to wait until 1880,

Trebamo čekati do 1880. godine,

when this big man,

kada je taj veliki čovjek,

Charles Darwin,

Charles Darwin,

publishes a wonderful, astonishing book

objavio prekrasnu, zadivljujuću knjigu

that starts a revolution.

koja započinje revoluciju.

The title is "The Power of Movement in Plants."

Naslov je "Moć pokretljivosti kod biljaka."

No one was allowed to speak about movement in plants

Nikome nije bilo dozvoljeno govoriti o kretanju kod biljaka

before Charles Darwin.

prije Charlesa Darwina.

In his book,

U njegovoj knjizi,

assisted by his son, Francis --

uz pomoć njegova sina, Francisa --

who was the first professor of plant physiology in the world, in Cambridge --

koji je bio prvi profesor psihologije biljaka u svijetu, u Cambridgeu --

they took into consideration every single movement

razmotrili su svaki pojedini pokret

for 500 pages.

na 500 stranica.

And in the last paragraph of the book,

A u zadnjem poglavlju knjige,

it's a kind of stylistic mark,

to je neka vrsta stilske oznake,

because normally Charles Darwin stored,

jer je Charles Darwin obično stavljao

in the last paragraph of a book,

u zadnje poglavlje knjige

the most important message.

najvažniju poruku.

He wrote that,

Napisao je,

"It's hardly an exaggeration

"Teško da je pretjerivanje

to say that the tip of the radical

reći da se vrh korijena

acts like the brain

ponaša poput mozga

of one of the lower animals."

jedne niže razvijene životinje."

This is not a metaphor.

To nije metafora.

He wrote some very interesting letters to one of his friends

Napisao je neka vrlo zanimljiva pisma jednom svom prijatelju,

who was J.D. Hooker, or at that time, president of the Royal Society,

J.D. Hookeru, koji je u to vrijeme bio predsjednik Kraljevskog društva,

so the maximum scientific authority in Britain

pa tako najveći znanstveni autoritet u Britaniji,

speaking about the brain in the plants.

govoreći o mozgu u biljkama.

Now, this is a root apex

Ovo je vršak korijena

growing against a slope.

koji raste uzbrdo.

So you can recognize this kind of movement,

Možete prepoznati tu vrstu kretanja,

the same movement that worms, snakes

istog kretanja kakvo su crvi, zmije

and every animal

i svaka životinja

that are moving on the ground without legs

koja se kreće po tlu bez nogu

is able to display.

u stanju prikazati.

And it's not an easy movement

A to nije lako kretanje,

because, to have this kind of movement,

jer, da biste se tako kretali,

you need to move different regions of the root

trebate pokretati različita područja korijena

and to synchronize these different regions

i uskladiti ta različita područja

without having a brain.

bez mozga.

So we studied the root apex

Proučavali smo vrh korijena

and we found that there is a specific region

i otkrili da postoji određeno područje

that is here, depicted in blue --

koje je ovdje obojano u plavo --

that is called the "transition zone."

nazovimo ga tranzicijska zona.

And this region, it's a very small region --

A to područje, to je vrlo malo područje.

it's less than one millimeter.

Manje je od jednog milimetra.

And in this small region

U tom malom području

you have the highest consumption

imate najveću potrošnju

of oxygen in the plants

kisika u biljkama

and more important,

i, još važnije,

you have these kinds of signals here.

ovdje imate ove vrste signala.

The signals that you are seeing here are action potential,

Signali koje ovdje vidite su potencijal za djelovanje,

are the same signals

to su isti signali

that the neurons of my brain, of our brain,

koje neuroni mog mozga, našeg mozga,

use to exchange information.

koriste za razmjenu informacija.

Now we know that a root apex

Sada znamo da vrh korijena

has just a few hundred cells

ima samo nekoliko stotina stanica

that show this kind of feature,

koje pokazuju tu vrstu značajke,

but we know how big

ali znamo kako je velik

the root apparatus of a small plant, like a plant of rye.

vrh korijena male biljke, kao što je raž.

We have almost

Imamo gotovo

14 million roots.

14 milijuna korijena.

We have 11 and a half million

Imamo 11 i pol milijuna

root apex

vrhova korijena

and a total length of 600 or more kilometers

ukupne dužine 600 i više kilometara

and a very high surface area.

i ogromne površine.

Now let's imagine

Zamislimo sada

that each single root apex

da svaki pojedini vrh korijena

is working in network with all the others.

radi u mreži sa svima drugima.

Here were have on the left, the Internet

Ovdje imamo s lijeve strane internet,

and on the right, the root apparatus.

a s desne aparaturu korijena.

They work in the same way.

Funkcioniraju na isti način.

They are a network

To su mreže

of small computing machines,

malih računalnih strojeva

working in networks.

koji rade u mrežama.

And why are they so similar?

A zašto su toliko slični?

Because they evolved

Zato što su se razvili

for the same reason:

iz istog razloga:

to survive predation.

da prežive grabežljivce.

They work in the same way.

Funkcioniraju na isti način.

So you can remove 90 percent of the root apparatus

Možete ukloniti 90 posto aparature korijena,

and the plants [continue] to work.

a biljka će nastaviti funkcionirati.

You can remove 90 percent of the Internet

Možete ukloniti 90 posto Interneta

and it is [continuing] to work.

i on će nastaviti funkcionirati.

So, a suggestion

Dakle, prijedlog

for the people working with networks:

za ljude koji rade sa mrežama:

plants are able

biljke su vam sposobne

to give you good suggestions

dati dobre prijedloge

about how to evolve networks.

o tome kako razvijati mreže.

And another possibility

A druga mogućnost

is a technological possibility.

je tehnološka mogućnost.

Let's imagine

Zamislimo

that we can build robots

da možemo napraviti robote

and robots that are inspired by plants.

koji su inspirirani biljkama.

Until now,

Do sada,

the man was inspired

čovjeka je inspirirao

just by man or the animals

samo čovjek ili životinje

in producing a robot.

u proizvodnji robota.

We have the animaloid --

Imamo animaloida --

and the normal robots inspired by animals,

normalnog robota inspiriranog životinjama,

insectoid, so on.

insektoida i tako dalje.

We have the androids

Imamo androide

that are inspired by man.

koji su inspirirani čovjekom.

But why have we not any plantoid?

Ali zašto nemamo nijedan plantoid?

Well, if you want to fly,

Ako želite letjeti,

it's good that you look at birds --

dobro je da promotrite ptice,

to be inspired by birds.

da vas inspiriraju ptice.

But if you want to explore soils,

Ali ako želite istražiti tlo

or if you want to colonize

ili ako želite nastaniti

new territory,

novi teritorij,

to best thing that you can do is to be inspired by plants

najbolja stvar koju možete učiniti je ta da vas inspiriraju biljke

that are masters in doing this.

koje su u tome majstori.

We have another possibility

Imamo još jednu mogućnost

we are working [on] in our lab,

na kojoj radimo u našem laboratoriju,

[which] is to build hybrids.

a to je da napravimo hibride.

It's much more easy to build hybrids.

Puno je lakše napraviti hibride.

Hybrid means it's something

Hibrid znači da je to nešto

that's half living and half machine.

što je pola živo biće, a pola stroj.

It's much more easy to work with plants

Puno je lakše raditi sa biljkama

than with animals.

nego sa životinjama.

They have computing power,

One imaju moć proračunavanja.

they have electrical signals.

One imaju električne signale.

The connection with the machine is much more easy,

Veza sa strojem je puno lakša,

much more even ethically possible.

čak i više etički moguća.

And these are three possibilities

Ovo su tri mogućnosti

that we are working on

na kojima radimo

to build hybrids,

kako bismo napravili hibride,

driven by algae

koje pokreću alge

or by the leaves at the end,

ili lišće na kraju,

by the most, most powerful parts of the plants,

pomoću najmoćnijih dijelova biljaka,

by the roots.

pomoću korijenja.

Well, thank you for your attention.

Hvala vam za vašu pažnju.

And before I finish,

Prije nego što završim

I would like to reassure that no snails were harmed

želio bih vas razuvjeriti kako nijedan puž nije bio ozlijeđen

in making this presentation.

prilikom izrade ove prezentacije.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)