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Understanding Plants - Part I: What a Plant Knows
  • Level Foundation
  • Duration 11 hours
  • Course by Tel Aviv University
  • Offered by

About

For centuries we have collectively marveled at plant diversity and form—from Charles Darwin’s early fascination with stems and flowers to Seymour Krelborn’s distorted doting in Little Shop of Horrors. This course intends to present an intriguing and scientifically valid look at how plants themselves experience the world—from the colors they see to the sensations they feel. Highlighting the latest research in genetics and more, we will delve into the inner lives of plants and draw parallels with the human senses to reveal that we have much more in common with sunflowers and oak trees than we may realize. We’ll learn how plants know up from down, how they know when a neighbor has been infested by a group of hungry beetles, and whether they appreciate the music you’ve been playing for them or if they’re just deaf to the sounds around them. We’ll explore definitions of memory and consciousness as they relate to plants in asking whether we can say that plants might even be aware of their surroundings. This highly interdisciplinary course meshes historical studies with cutting edge modern research and will be relevant to all humans who seek their place in nature. This class has three main goals: 1. To introduce you to basic plant biology by exploring plant senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste, balance). 2. To introduce you to biological research and the scientific method. 3. To get the student to question life in general and what defines us as humans. Once you've taken this course, if you are interested in a more in-depth study of plants, check out my follow-up course, Fundamentals of Plant Biology (https://www.coursera.org/learn/plant-biology/home/welcome). In order to receive academic credit for this course you must successfully pass the academic exam on campus. For information on how to register for the academic exam – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/registration Additionally, you can apply to certain degrees using the grades you received on the courses. Read more on this here – https://go.tau.ac.il/b.a/mooc-acceptance Teachers interested in teaching this course in their class rooms are invited to explore our Academic High school program here – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/online-highschool

Modules

About The Course

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 2 Plugin
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1 Videos

  • Course Promo

1 Readings

  • How to succeed in this course? PDF version

Video Lectures

    • 8 Videos
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • What plant could you not live without? why?

8 Videos

  • 1.1 Introduction
  • 1.2 Our Life and Plants
  • 1.3 Plants and Biology Research
  • 1.4 Plants and Food Security
  • 1.5 Major Themes in Plant Biology
  • 1.6 Scientific Process
  • 1.7 The Evolution of Plant Structure and Senses
  • 1.8 Plant Evolution

Review

    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Introduction

Suggested Reading

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Week 2 - Suggested Reading

Video Lectures

    • 7 Videos
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7 Videos

  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Darwin's Experiment
  • 2.3 Light and Flowering
  • 2.4 Phytochrome: A Light-Activated Switch
  • 2.5 Arabidopsis Blind Mutant
  • 2.6 What a Plant Sees?
  • 2.7 Molecular Biology of Plant Vision

Review

    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • What a Plant Sees?

Suggested Reading

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Week 3 - Suggested Reading

Video Lectures

    • 7 Videos
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7 Videos

  • 3.1 Introduction to the Plant Cell
  • 3.2 Lock and Key Mechanism of a Receptor
  • 3.3 Ethylene and Fruit Ripening
  • 3.4 Mechanism of Ethylene Receptor
  • 3.5 Plant Communication: Example 1
  • 3.6 Plant Communication: Example 2
  • 3.7 Inter and Intra Communication

Review

    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • What a Plant Smells?

Suggested Reading

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Week 4 - Suggested Reading

Video Lectures

    • 10 Videos
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • What do you think: do plants feel pain?

10 Videos

  • 4.1 Introduction to the Human Mechano-Sensory System
  • 4.2 How Does the Venus Trap Know When it has been Touched?
  • 4.3 Water and the Plant Cell
  • 4.4 Leaf Movement in Mimosa
  • 4.5 Thigmomorphogenesis
  • 4.6 Genes that Respond to Touch
  • 4.7 Do Plants Feel Pain?
  • 4.8 The Sound of Music and Plants
  • 4.9 Plants and Deaf Genes
  • 4.10 Sound Perception in Plants

Review

    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • What a Plant Feels?

Suggested Reading

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Week 5 - Suggested Reading

Video Lectures

    • 8 Videos
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8 Videos

  • 5.1 How a Plant Keeps its Balance
  • 5.2 Plant Response to Gravity
  • 5.3 Gravitropism in Roots
  • 5.4 The Discovery of Auxin
  • 5.5 Auxin Transport
  • 5.6 Auxin and Root Initiation
  • 5.7 Sensing Gravity
  • 5.8 Circumnutation

Review

    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • How a Plant Knows Where it is?

Suggested Reading

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Week 6 - Suggested Reading

Video Lectures

    • 6 Videos
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • What do you mean when you say "intelligent"?

6 Videos

  • 6.1 What a Plant Remembers?
  • 6.2 Short Term Memory
  • 6.3 Long Term Memory 1
  • 6.4 Long Term Memory 2 (with Prof. Nir Ohad)
  • 6.5 Epigenetic Heredity
  • 6.6 Intelligent Memory?

Review

    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • What a Plant Remembers?

Suggested Reading

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Week 7 - Suggested Reading

Video Lectures

    • 5 Videos
    • 1 Plugin
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5 Videos

  • 7.1 Memory and Consciousness
  • 7.2 What Do We Mean When We Say "Intelligent"?
  • 7.3 A Tour of the Manna Center
  • 7.4 Research in the Chamovitz Lab
  • 7.5 Food Security

Final Quiz

    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Final

1 Readings

  • What's next?

Prof. Chamovitz - Uncut!

    • 1 Videos
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1 Videos

  • Bloopers (oops!)

Auto Summary

Dive into the captivating world of plants with "Understanding Plants - Part I: What a Plant Knows." This foundational course, led by Coursera, explores plant senses and their parallels to human senses, combining historical insights with cutting-edge research. Over 660 minutes, you'll learn about plant biology, the scientific method, and broader life questions. Ideal for science enthusiasts and nature lovers, this course offers starter and professional subscriptions. Engage with this interdisciplinary journey to discover what plants know and perceive.

Professor Daniel Chamovitz, Ph.D.
Instructor

Professor Daniel Chamovitz, Ph.D.