Alex Webb - sweaty plants and clocks. Performance Around the Clock episode 39.

About this episode

Professor Alex Webb discusses plant physiology and circadian rhythms, exploring the relationship between plants and their internal clocks.

In episode 39 of the Performance Around The Clock podcast, we are joined by Professor Alex Webb from the University of Cambridge, a leading expert in plant cell signaling and circadian clocks. The episode was recorded at the XVIII Congress of the European Biological Rhythms Society in Lubeck, Germany. Professor Webb shares his journey from psychology to plant physiology, discussing how a shared inspiration from researcher Andrew Miller led both him and also host Dr. Satchin Panda into the field of circadian rhythms. We explore the foundational history of biological clocks, starting with the 18th-century "wine cellar" experiment by De Mairan that first proved plants possess an internal oscillator. Professor Webb explains the complex behaviors of plants, such as the "yin and yang" of diurnal and nocturnal flowering to match pollinators, and the phenomenon of "sweaty plants"—how the circadian clock regulates stomata to balance carbon intake with water loss. We also discuss the metabolic math plants perform to survive the night, a process that explains why pumpkins actually grow in the dark. The conversation turns to "chronoculture," a concept…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Satchin Panda

Guest: Professor Alex Webb

Topics covered

• plant cell signaling
• circadian rhythms
• biological clocks
• agriculture
• metabolic processes
• chronoculture

Keywords

• sweaty plants
• circadian clock
• stomata
• diurnal flowering
• chronoculture
• L3 gene
• Plants for Space

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Cambridge

Places: Lubeck, Germany

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