One of the World’s Oldest Science Experiments Comes Up From the Dirt

 There is an experiment called the Beal Seed Viability Experiment.  This experiment is attempting to figure out how long seeds can lie in the soil dormant without losing their ability to germinate.  This experiment has lasted for about 142 years.  This experiment is important to help with storing crop seeds or restoring damaged ecosystems.  In 1879, William James Beal filled 20 bottles with thousands of seeds each (50 each of 21 species).  He planned for his future successors to dig one up every 5 years and plant the preserved seeds.  For the first 20 years of the experiment, most of the seeds flourished.  They slowly started to drop off 1 by 1 leaving the Verbascum blatteria, which is still blooming despite being underground for over a century.  At this point in the experiment, one bottle is dug up every 20 years.  The most recent one was dug up in 2021 and was found based on a map of where all the bottles were buried.  In 2040, the next bottle will be dug up by handing down the map to the next generation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/science/beal-seeds-experiment.html?searchResultPosition=2

I think this was interesting how an experiment this long is still going.  Being able to figure out the exact conditions for certain seeds to bloom could save them in the environment if their habitat gets destroyed.  This experiment will still last for a long time and I'm interested on seeing how it turns out.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 17, 2021 at 7:29 AM

    This experiment kind of gives me Maze Runner vibes- where the tests are passed fro one generation to the next. It's fascinating, and very beneficial to scientific research that someone took the time to design an experiment that could last this long and gain data a computer is incapable of predicting. I'm also surprised and glad someone hasn't lost the map yet!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 20, 2021 at 9:14 AM

    This is amazing! This experiment is a little random, but still impresive. Scientists are able to test seed dormance and study plants from 142 years ago.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dual-fuel vehicles

A recent study shows that dual- fuel vehicles are benefiting the population but, turns out they are costing the environment. While substituting gasoline for ethanol gases, it causes an increase of ultra fine particle matter, with a 30% increase of atmospheric concentration. The problem is that they are less then 50 nanometers in diameter. The nano particles are also not track or regulated by the environmental agencies. We inhale these gases everyday, inhaling ethanol. The most practical way to reduce greenhouse gases is using electric, hybrid and biofuel care.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828124546.htm
Read more

Acid Zone in Chesapeake Bay Found

     According to the University of Delaware, the Chesapeake Bay is becoming acidic as it has gone to 7.4 pH from an average of 8.2. The oxidation of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide may be the factor that is leading to the higher acidity levels in coastal oceans, but it can eventually lead to more of open oceans. Naturally the waters of the Chesapeake Bay have a regulatory system that holds back the increase of acidity levels in the area, and this works as the dissolving of living shells, non-living aragonite, and calcite minerals. Though nature has a path to keep the waters in the Chesapeake Bay, humans should take more care of our Earth as we have a role in polluting the water and rising the acidity levels in coastal oceans. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828093737.htm
Read more