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Apr. 23, 2010
Pollen Origami
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Pollen starts to dry out when it leaves the flower, which can destroy the genetic material the grain is carrying. To combat dehydration, pollen grains have evolved a way of folding up to prevent water from leaking out. Eleni Katifori and colleagues describe the physics of pollen folding in a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Music courtesy of Prelinger Archives. Edited by Annette Heist. Produced by Flora Lichtman
FEATURED READING
Brilliant Blunders
by Mario Livio
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