Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76FEBRUARY 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 55 ernstseed.com sales@ernstseed.com 800-873-3321 Restoration & Reclamation Sustainable Landscapes Pollinator Habitat Conservation Biomass memories. Researchers at Monash University in Australia have used a unique way to study behavior in honeybees. The bees are trained to stick their tongue out in response to the pres- ence of an odor that is paired with a sugar reward. This behav- ior is then positively reinforced with odors such as lavender or linalool (a common floral scent) so that the bee only sticks its tongue out when there is an aroma “puffed” into its face. According to Charles Claudianos from the Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, who was part of the international team that sequenced the honeybee genome, bee- keepers have, for a long time, used lavender to calm bees down prior to harvesting honey. “Due to our new research we now know why it works as a calmative, including for humans and their pets. Our team, colleagues from Australia and France, examined how lavender and other key odors modify honeybees’ aggression when they defend their colonies against intruders. The odors counteract the potent alarm pheromones that bees release to recruit nest- mates into defending the hive, thus reducing overall aggres- sion,” he says. Linking the behavior to molecular changes in the brain, Claudianos and his team have shown that odors such as laven- der block aggressive behavior not by masking the alarm phero- mones, but by switching the response off in the brain. The honeybee can form complex memories through pro- cesses much like those happening in human brains, but the honeybee brain is simpler and they have a smaller genome. This makes them an ideal model for investigating how the different processes needed for long-term memories happen. Scientists know that when a memory is formed, molecular changes can trigger physical changes to the brain, including new or altered neural connections and activity. These build up over a lifetime to create a human’s long-term memory. One series of molecular changes that can occur due to experience or environmental changes and that affect memory formation is the differential expression of certain genes, medi- ated, among others, through processes collectively called epi- genetic mechanisms. They regulate gene expression through modifications of the DNA or its associated proteins, without changing the genes themselves “By understanding how changes to the epigenome accu- mulate, manifest and influence brain function, we may, in the future, be able to develop treatments for brain diseases that also develop over a lifetime,” says Stephanie Biergans, a researcher at the University of Queensland, Australia, also stud- ying honeybees and how their brains are affected by flowers. “There is thought to be a genetic predisposition for some conditions, such as Alzheimer's and dementia, but in many cases environmental factors determine whether the disease will manifest.” WHERE ON THE WEB Listen to our two podcast episodes on the role of seed in therapeutic gardens! Visit: http://ow.ly/XYae307WWSc (Part 1) http://ow.ly/YzOJ307WWV8 (Part 2) “By understanding how changes to the epigenome accumulate, manifest and influence brain function, we may, in the future, be able to develop treatments for brain diseases that also develop over a lifetime.” — Stephanie Biergans Blazek can testify to the benefits of plants on the human brain — she sees those benefits all the time working with staff at therapeutic gardens. “Maybe you’ve had a stroke and you need to work on your fine motor skills. They’re going to have you trussing tomatoes,” she says. Kreski agrees that plants are hugely valuable to improving the human condition, something that is only becoming more apparent as more research is done. “When you’re adjusting to something new in life or trying to grow past your current abilities to new abilities, the entire meta- phor for the process of what you’re going through as a human being can be found in the growth of the seed,” she says. “The seed has potential, but it’s not realized unless the right condi- tions are met.” SW