Are cyclic plant and animal behaviours driven by gravimetric mechanical forces?

The celestial mechanics of the Sun, Moon, and Earth dominate the variations in gravitational force that all matter, live or inert, experiences on Earth. Expressed as gravimetric tides, these variations are pervasive and have forever been part of the physical ecology with which organisms evolved. Here, we first offer a brief review of previously proposed explanations that gravimetric tides constitute a tangible and potent force shaping the rhythmic activities of organisms.

Time-resolved ultra-weak photon emission as germination performance indicator in single seedlings.

As they grow, plant seedlings emit very small amount of light, the so-called ultraweak photon emissions (UPE). Numbering tens or hundreds of photons per second, this UPE radiation has been measured on groups of 10 to 1000s of seedlings growing together. Here, we set out to measure UPE on single germinating seeds, enabling the assessment of individual seeds.

Fluorescence decay of dyed protozoa: differences between stressed and non-stressed cysts.

Several series of tests have shown that fresh, intact samples of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium parvum (oo)cysts are not marked by fluorescent probes such as carboxyfluorcein-succinimidyl-diacetate-ester (CFDA-SE), C12-resazurin and SYTOX® Green, probably because of their robust cell walls. These dyes fail to indicate the viability of such protozoa and allow negative responses to be recorded from living and infectious samples. Cryptosporidium parvum showed stronger isolation from chemicals, with living oocysts remaining unstained by the probe for up to 90 days after extraction.

Ultraweak, spontaneous photon emission in seedlings: toxicological and chronobiological applications.

The detection of ultraweak light emission in seedlings has been explored in toxicological and chronobiological studies. The main studies in this area are reviewed briefly, including a report on applied tests held in the last 7 years at LaFA--UNICAMP (Brazil). In general, results indicate that a linear relation for total light emission versus germination performance is found if only strong stress situations are considered, when external factors depress a seedling's development, even when considering a sequential series of tests.