According to new research out of the John Innes Centre in the U.K., plants perform a complex calculation to figure out how much of stored energy to use during the night. The plants actually ration that energy from the day and burn it off bit by bit through the evening.
“The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food,” biologist Alison Smith, one of the new study’s authors, said in press release. The plants use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into sugar and starch during the day, and then adjust how quickly they burn that starch to last through the night. “If the starch stored is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted.”
Learn more here: https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/how-do-plants-survive-without-sun-math
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This relates to engineering because engineers could use this to grow plants where there is no sun. Maybe in a cave or in another planet.
