Stefano Mancuso

Er planter bedre problemløsere enn mennesker? Stefano Mancuso mener det, og i Planterevolusjonen gir han en overbevisende vitenskapelig begrunnelse. Planter utgjør 80 prosent av alt levende på jorden, og likevel er det så lett å glemme at disse små, unnselige organismene ikke bare er ansvarlig for livsviktig oksygen, men også for mye vi tar for gitt i vårt moderne liv: medisin, mat og fossilt brennstoff. Stefano Mancuso, en av verdens ledende forskere på plantenes nevrobiologi, viser i denne boken plantenes overraskende evne til innovasjon, til å huske og å lære, og dermed vise oss kreative løsninger på de mest presserende teknologiske og økologiske problemer vi står overfor i dag. Til tross for at planter verken har hjerne eller et sentralnervesystem, «leser» de i enda større grad enn dyr sine omgivelser. De utforsker effektivt og reagerer raskt på mulige ytre farer, og takket være deres desentraliserte kommandolinjer er de i stand til å huske tidligere farlige situasjoner og tilpasse seg nye omstendigheter.

A leading plant scientist offers a new understanding of the botanical world and a passionate argument for intelligent plant life. Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? For centuries, philosophers and scientists have argued that plants are unthinking and inert, yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged this idea, shedding new light on the complex interior lives of plants. In Brilliant Green, leading scientist Stefano Mancuso presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. He argues that plants process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one another- showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware. Part botany lesson, part manifesto, Brilliant Green is an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdom.

"In this thought-provoking, handsomely illustrated book, Italian neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso considers the fundamental differences between plants and animals and challenges our assumptions about which is the ‘higher’ form of life.” —The Wall Street Journal “Fascinating…full of optimism…this quick, accessible read will appeal to anyone with interest in how plants continue to surprise us.” —Library Journal Do plants have intelligence? Do they have memory? Are they better problem solvers than people? The Revolutionary Genius of Plants—a fascinating, paradigm-shifting work that upends everything you thought you knew about plants—makes a compelling scientific case that these and other astonishing ideas are all true. Plants make up eighty percent of the weight of all living things on earth, and yet it is easy to forget that these innocuous, beautiful organisms are responsible for not only the air that lets us survive, but for many of our modern comforts: our medicine, food supply, even our fossil fuels. On the forefront of uncovering the essential truths about plants, world-renowned scientist Stefano Mancuso reveals the surprisingly sophisticated ability of plants to innovate, to remember, and to learn, offering us creative solutions to the most vexing technological and ecological problems that face us today. Despite not having brains or central nervous systems, plants perceive their surroundings with an even greater sensitivity than animals. They efficiently explore and react promptly to potentially damaging external events thanks to their cooperative, shared systems; without any central command centers, they are able to remember prior catastrophic events and to actively adapt to new ones. Every page of The Revolutionary Genius of Plants bubbles over with Stefano Mancuso’s infectious love for plants and for the eye-opening research that makes it more and more clear how remarkable our fellow inhabitants on this planet really are. In his hands, complicated science is wonderfully accessible, and he has loaded the book with gorgeous photographs that make for an unforgettable reading experience. The Revolutionary Genius of Plants opens the doors to a new understanding of life on earth.

Planter har mye å lære oss, fra nettverkbygging til innovasjon, men bare hvis vi forstår hvordan de lever. Smarte planter er en engasjerende og lidenskapelig beretning om plantekongedømmets indre liv. I Smarte planter presenterer Stefano Mancuso, en ledende forsker og grunnlegger av plantenevrobiologien, en ny innfallsvinkel til planteverdenen. Han kombinerer et historisk perspektiv med planteforskningen, og argumenterer for at på grunn av kulturelle fordommer og menneskelig arroganse fortsetter vi å undervurdere plantene. Men planter bearbeider informasjon, de sover, husker og signaliserer til andre - og viser at langt fra å være passive maskiner, er de intelligente og bevisste. Ved å vise oss plantenes evne til å se, berøre og kommunisere, utfordrer Mancuso vår forståelse av intelligens, og viser at plantelivet er mye mer sofistikert enn vi har forestilt oss.

Ce livre relate les vies exemplaires, les anecdotes et les recherches de quelques hommes - naturalistes, botanistes, geneticiens, philosophes et explorateurs - qui ont revolutionne notre idee du monde vegetal. Cinq siecles de stupefiantes decouvertes botaniques. Charles Darwin et l'orchidee de Madagascar qui ne peut etre pollinisee que par une seule espece de papillon; la theorie fondamentale du savant anglais sur la fecondation croisee et sur l'evolution des plantes; Federico Delpino qui a etudie la collaboration entre vegetaux et fourmis; les observations de Leonard de Vinci sur la disposition adoptee par les feuilles pour capter la lumiere solaire; la decouverte de l'Amorphophallus titanum par Odoardo Beccari a Sumatra; l'histoire tragique de Nikolaj Ivanovi? Vavilov qui, en cherchant a selectionner en laboratoire un super-ble capable de nourrir des millions de Russes, preservera la diversite des plantes mais mourra de faim dans une prison sovietique. Et encore, le genie de Marcello Malpighi; l'invention de la genetique vegetale par l'abbe Mendel; la vie extraordinaire de George Washington Carver, premier Noir americain diplome, et la tenacite de Charles Harrison Blackley cherchant la cause du rhume des foins.