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DIFFERENT SPERM COMPETITION. “Sperm competition does not occur in flowering plants as typically only a single pair of sperm cells is delivered for double fertilization. Two recent reports show that plants are capable of avoiding reproductive failure when defective sperm cells are released.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098221200468X View in LinkedIn

SPERM COMPETITION. “In vertebrate and invertebrate species millions of sperm cells compete for fertilization with the ova or egg cell. Usually the largest, longest, fastest and physiologically most active sperm cells win the race and defective sperm cells are sorted out. Sperm competition thus represents a powerful selective force to guarantee fertilization and reproductive success.” https://lnkd.in/dhgWbCC View in LinkedIn

POLLEN GRAINS. “The complexity of crosstalk during this journey, associated with self- and non-self-recognition mechanisms, represents not only a major driving force of speciation, but also an exciting and challenging area to investigate the function and evolution of intercellular communication mechanisms in plants.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674205214608996 View in LinkedIn

SPACESHIPS. “Pollen grains can be transported over long distances by wind or animal pollinators, are mostly tolerant of desiccation, and are capable of generating a long tube that grows deeply into the maternal tissues of the ovary that harbor the protected female gametes (egg and central cell). These structural innovations likely exerted a significant influence on the evolution of communication mechanisms in sexual reproduction.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674205214608996 View in LinkedIn

BLADE RUNNER 2049 predicted that a society which kept every record electronically could easily be wiped clean by cosmic accident such as sun flares or by malicious intent; bank records, IDs, property deeds, the lot. View in LinkedIn

ADAPTATION TO DRY LAND. “Angiosperm fossil records dating back to the Lower Cretaceous (130–140 million years ago) show, in addition to the generation of seeds, the second major functional innovation of the spermatophytes: the evolution of pollen grains which harbor, and thus protect, sperm cells (the male gametes) from drying out.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674205214608996 View in LinkedIn

ULTIMATE VULNERABILITY. “Someday the Net will be the summation of the world's total computing resources. All computers will link up into a chaotic digital soup in which everything is connected – indirectly or directly – to everything else. This coming Net of distributed resources will be tremendously powerful, and tremendously hard to harness because of its decentralized nature. It will be an ecology of computing machines, and managing it will require an ecological approach.” http://www.wired.com/1995/02/viruses/ View in LinkedIn

PLANT SWIMMING SPERM "requires an aqueous environment and thus limits their dispersal. Spermatophytes evolved mechanisms to protect their gametes from desiccation and so spread to almost all terrestrial areas. Flowering plants (angiosperms), which develop seeds from ovules that are enclosed in an ovary, represent the most successful phylum, comprising an extraordinary diversity of species dominating today’s terrestrial life.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674205214608996 View in LinkedIn

WARNING. “Spawn of the devil, computer viruses may help us realize the full potential of the Net.” http://www.wired.com/1995/02/viruses/ View in LinkedIn

DEEPLY SENTIENT PLANTS. “During fertilization, cell–cell communication events take place to achieve and maximize reproductive success. Additional layers of crosstalk exist, including self-recognition and specialized processes to prevent self-fertilization and consequent inbreeding.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674205214608996 View in LinkedIn