Re: Plants

dont forget the metformin, for insulin resistance.=C2 it is supposedly a wonder drug.

Not sure how to think about the neurobiology of plants. There is a rob=st bunch of literature on how plant cells are stressed, how they respond =nd how they build biological resilience along the way. Because they are s=ssile and can't just call their doc for a prescription, whatever they do=has to be relatively simple and part of a very basic process that either displac=s, overcomes, outdoes or modifies a stressor to make it manageable.

Plants don't have nerves per se but they have cells that behave in=a similar way for similar purposes as our nerves. Plants do use what we call neurotransmitters .... catecholamines like dopamine and norepi- they h=ve tons of acetylcholine and the same degradation pathways, and even the =ame glutamate pathways and receptors humans do. And, more.

Classes of movements are common to almost all plants, just as with hum=ns. Darwin described them pretty well. Breakdown in these movement systems=can look similar in humans - we just have more types of motion to deal wit= than plants ... like when we get dopamine deficient in Parkinson or atrophi=d alpha motor neurons in ALS. They have similar problems in their motor systems, and usually they overcome them if they can adapt to or beat t=e stressor.

Plants also have memory (used mostly for growth and reproduction) and =ome think different types of cognition too. While glutamate is a big playe= in that process, it isn't the only one. Some of the chemicals have al=o evolved to serve similar functions, including a lot of similarity in core func=ion between chlorophyll and melanin. Chlorophyll serves to capture light a=d create energy, the core function require to sustain a sessile plant. M=lanin becomes dopamine, which allows humans to move and somehow plays other =ore important roles that we don't yet understand as the melanocytes ar= derived from neural crest cells (high priced embryologic real estate...)

Stressors to motor or cognitive processes include(there are more):

Water
Sodium
Temperature
Heavy metals
Pathogens (bugs)

Also, light is very toxic to roots and certain type of internal cells =n vascular plants.

So can plants get Alzheimer•like protein aggregation diseases that slo=ly disrupt cognitive function to the point of death?
Can they get disordered movement disorders like Parkinson where they l=ck a particular chemical or wasting diseases like ALS where their locomotio= capacity is slowly diminished.

Yes, they do. And many more diseases too.

In the case of acidified soil, aluminum (normally not particularly bothersome unless in super high concentration) acts as a stressor in a=very similar way to what we see in alzheimer pathology. Using metabolic pat=ways, root absorption of other elements, or even transfer of nutrients from =oot symbionts, plant cells that are not consumed by the stress can manage,=adapt or clear the stressor. The pathology in a very specific part of the ro=t appears very similar to plaques/tangles, as does the resulting behavio= in plants.

In humans, there is no viable use for aluminum and toxicity has long b=en known. It is unlikely there is much concern on an environmental basis=but maybe. I think there is probably enough silica . silicates in our wate= to balance in out. But on a tiny scale, focused hits of aluminum can be v=ry deadly and especially when they are in an acidic environment.

Recently, a common type of drug (PPI / proton pump inhibitor) taken fo= heartburn, acid reflux or peptic ulcers was correlated w Alzheimer (Sa=ple from 74,000 people over age 75 from 2004-2011in Germany). Specificall=, patients on PPI are thought to have a 44% increased risk of dementia. =ut in my view the mechanism doesn't quite make sense - what does make se=se is that patients with heartburn reflux or ulcers also take antacids. And =he most common ingredient in antacids is aluminum. Not just regular alumi=um but straight to the most acidified part of the human body, so that the=br> aluminum becomes quite reactive.

Some of the aluminum will be uptaken =y the bidirectional parasympathetics (vagal) and transported into the nervou= system, but some of the aluminum will also pass through the gut and up=et both the microbiome and the gut (enteric) nervous system as well. It d=esn't take much and it doesn't even have to stay for very long, but if y=u are taking aluminum (or other active heavy metal) almost every day for man= years, you will pay the price - even if your body can find a way to re=ove it pretty quickly. Meanwhile the inflammation in the cells will contin=e. I do think there is a similar situation happening in the enteric nervo=s system that is the trigger for Parkinsons - which is why there are gas=ric, integumentary and gut symptoms very early and persistently throughout.=My suspicion is that it affects either the microbiome and/or eventually t=e dopmainergic neurons of the gut. Over time, this will migrate up the v=gus or along some melanin/dopaminergic pathway to make trouble. Whatever p=thway that allowed the melanin to migrate to the brain the first place is al=owing the stressor to follow, probably bound to some form of co-variable. MO=e later on ALS.
But what do plants do, how do they do it and why aren't we doing i=?

Thanks f=r the metformin reminder! So far my immediate family has avoided diabetes by diet choice, but for my other relatives, I'll let them know.

I agree that mapping out the ways plants communicate, would be fascinating. Perhaps we can write down the words and rules akin to a<=r> language.

Very interesting on the aluminum front. We need ways to see how different building blocks are processed, trafficked, etc. in the body. One hope I have for our project on the world's smallest mammal is that<=r> we can watch molecules and atoms throughout the entire "life cycle&quo=; of the processes of the body.

Ed

glad to help. I think we might want to inquire=C2 re the similarities of plants and animals. . =stressors , disease. energy. . f=n. why do people and treees first get taller than =ider . i get it for plants.