Seeds

The knowledge of our couch of finely-honed scientific minds didn't pop out of the ground fully-formed - it had to be planted, tended, and grown lovingly over a long period of time to flower into the beautiful curiosity tree it is today. But like so much of life, it started as just a tiny, humble seed - which is super convenient for the topic of this episode!
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[Definition]
nybg.org/planttalk/what-is-a-seed
kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.202…
sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics…
sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics…
[This or That: Seed Numbers]
25: seed weight or germination time
2000: preserved species or oldest germinated seed
385 million: individual Amazonian trees or oldest seed-producing fossilized plant
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2012/687832
nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/12/ch…
seedvault.no/about/the-seeds
science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1153600
eurekalert.org/news-releases/708279
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3309767
science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1102491
web.archive.org/web/20130608110356/http://sura…
britannica.com/story/can-apple-seeds-kill-you
[Trivia Question]
2024 record for smallest creature to disperse ingested seeds
eurekalert.org/news-releases/1042977
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ppp3.1…)%2C%20characterized,and%20cockroaches%20for%20seed%20dispersal
bantam.earth/common-rough-woodlouse-porcellio-…
[Fact Off]
HybriBots are a cyborg way to plant seeds, made from wild oats and human-made capsules
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adma.… pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34506974
Video of wild oat fruits: youtube.com/watch?v=NlUparIDfzE
Human urine does not protect acorns against predation by the wood mouse
[Ask the Science Couch]
Heirloom seeds and non-recently-hybridized plant cultivars (vs. hybrids vs. genetic modifications)
hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/heirloom-vege…
extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/dkk…
ag.umass.edu/home-lawn-garden/fact-sheets/heir…
extension.illinois.edu/node/21430
hles.unl.edu/translating-language-seed-packets…
fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/gmo-cr…
Patreon bonus: How seeds germinate and seeds that grow better after being digested
mdpi.com/2311-7524/9/4/462
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.111…
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S143…
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/1…
[Butt One More Thing]
Mysterious tomato plant on the volcanic island Surtsey came from a seed in human poop
icelandreview.com/news/dirty-secret-uncovered-…
whc.unesco.org/en/list/1267

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