CrowdScience listener Eric, in New Zealand, has noticed his wisteria growing towards a neighbouring tree. He thinks that it actually knows where it’s going. But how can a plant have a sense of direction?
Plants don’t have the advantage of brains or eyes, but that doesn’t seem to stop them from being clever enough to find out from their environment where to move and how to get there – all while being rooted to the spot.
Marnie Chesterton visits the Natural History Museum and Kew Gardens in London, home to the largest collection of living plants in the world, to discover how plants make their manoeuvres, and talks to botanists and plant biologists for the latest findings on the mysterious life of climbing plants.
Featuring:
Dr Mariane Sousa-Baena, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell University
Dr Ilia Leitch, Senior Research Leader, Kew Gardens
Tom Freeth, Head of Plant Records, Kew Gardens
Dr Silvia Guerra, Neuroscience of Movement Laboratory, Padua University
Professor Christian Fankhauser, Centre for Integrative Genomics, Lausanne University
Dr Sandra Knapp, Merit Researcher, Natural History Museum
Today’s podcast takes up Joe Biden’s decision to violate his own party’s principles and refuse to veto a Congressional move against bad crime rules in the District of Columbia. Does this herald a new era of pragmatic politics inside the Biden White House? Give a listen. Source
What is the purpose of staking? And what is the motivation?
On this episode of “Money Reimagined,” Michael Casey and Sheila Warren will be exploring the ever-evolving world of staking with CoinDesk Ethereum protocol reporter Margaux Nijkerk.
Some are calling it the Shanghai upgrade. Others say that technically, it’s the Capella upgrade. Still, others are merging the two and calling this the Shapella upgrade.
Whatever you call it, this week’s “Money Reimagined” episode is tackling one of the more important changes to Ethereum’s core code since last year’s successful Merge to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. The key part of is the 32 staked ether each validator was required to lock up before and after the Merge to bootstrap the system is now being unlocked.
This might sound like a nerdy topic. But thanks largely to the excellent, clear explanations of Margaux Nijkerk, the episode makes it clear that everyone should care about this as the upgrade opens up some important questions that go to the heart of crypto’s core principles:
How to democratize blockchain systems so all users, not just the whales and corporate entities, have a stake (literally) in their governance and validation mechanisms
Whether the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent crackdown on Kraken’s staking-as-a-service offering in the U.S. will make it easier or harder for individuals to participate
What all this means for arguably the most important principle of all: the goal of decentralization, the idea that a cabal of big players can’t ever collude to censor transactions
You’ll also hear a discussion of what unlocking such a large amount of ether might mean for the token’s price, get some education on how blockchain developer communities coordinate such upgrades and are invited to contemplate what all this means for the future of crypto.
Michele Musso produced and edited this episode with announcements by Adam B. Levine and our executive producer, Jared Schwartz. Our theme song is “Shepard.”
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Are you building the next big thing in Web3? Apply to pitch your project live on stage at the CoinDesk Pitchfest Powered by Google Cloud at Consensus, the industry’s most influential event happening April 26-28 in Austin, Texas. Apply by March 31 for a chance to be among the twelve finalists selected to pitch. Visit consensus.coindesk.com/pitchfest for more information.
Matt proposes an elegant solution for solving the elite university culture issue.
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Deep in remote forests half a world away from the gilded halls of New York, Michael Rockefeller seems determined to learn as much as he can about one tribal community in particular. After his disappearance and a country-wide search, the theories begin: Did Rockefeller die? Was he murdered, then eaten? And, the strangest of all: Could he be alive today?
Californians have long moved to Nevada in search of new business and personal opportunities. But a massive business park near Reno is drawing in businesses like never before. Some long-timers aren’t happy.
Chicago’s new police District Councils are designed to bring more community input to police oversight and accountability. The three-member councils can recommend policies but not enact them — so what power do they really have? Reset talks to three newly elected representatives: Anthony Michael Tamez, 17th Police District Council member; Brad Kessler, 18th Police District Council member; and Daniel Martin, 16th Police District Council member.
A slump in tech is driving investors to rediscover old ways. Out are the cash-splashing long bets; in are smaller, profitable, strategic firms. Nigeria’s election was pitched as the most transparent ever. It was not. We ask what is likely to happen now. And chilli crisp, a Chinese condiment with a deep history, is a study in how foods become fads.
