One of the oldest science experiments in the world has been secretly reactivated in the United States

One of the world’s oldest science experiments was recently reactivated in the US city of East Lansing after a delay caused by the pandemic.

The experience has a 20-year control cycle, inclIt started in 1879 when botanist William James Beal filled 20 bottles with a mixture of sand and seeds of certain types of plants and buried them upside down in a secret location on the campus of present-day Michigan State. University.

The aim of the experiment was to prevent water from entering the plants and to determine if they can germinate after being in this state for long periods of time.

When the experiment began over 100 years ago, examinations were carried out every five years and the seeds were planted to see if anything was growing, but today this procedure is carried out every 20 years.

Beal, the scientist who started this centuries-old seed bank, I sought to better understand how long a plant can last in the soil and what are the factors that trigger its growth. With this, he wanted to help local farmers to combat the constant weeding of their plantations, as one of the conclusions of the experiment was to determine how long the weeds could continue to germinate due to the seeds already present in the plant. Earth.

In 1910, the botanist confided his experience to a colleague, and from there began a tradition of transmission to young botanists. the task of monitoring the seed bank at increasing time intervals, first every 5 years, then every 10 and finally every 20. To prevent the tests from losing their traceability over the years, a sort of seed custodian group was formed in the state of Michigan, where the responsibility to ensure that the experience is passed down from generation to generation.

The task is no minor, as the story of Beal’s seeds attracts vandals and curious people who want to find the remaining bottles, so their location is a very well-kept secret. VShen the condition of the plants must be checked, this is done at night, with shovels and torches.

Of the original bottles buried by Beal, only 5 remain and one had to be salvaged from the ground in 2020, but due to campus closures during the worst months of the pandemic in the States. -United, the experiment had to be postponed.

But on April 15, at dawn, the seed team, Led by Professor Frank Telewski, he was finally able to save the container from its secret location. The collected seeds were placed in a potting soil and taken to the laboratory for examination.

Professor Telewski is now 60 years old and after decades as a caretaker, he selected three young faculty members to help him with the excavation work and carry on the legacy by keeping the secret of where to stay. find the seeds.

Preserve this The “direct line to history” has several other challenges, such as ensuring that no construction or adaptation of the campus damages the place where the seeds are buried. Stopping these excavations is not easy, especially since the exact site of the experiment must be kept secret.

After the 20-year cycles, the bottles buried by Beal will finally be exhausted in 2100, reaching a longevity of 221 years, the longest experience ever, but not the most ambitious because seven years ago a long-term bacterial viability study was proposed, perhaps inspired by Beal’s experience, to double this time and complete 500 years of studies.

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