Un Scientifique a Découvert une Plante qui Pourrait Changer le Monde

Sympa

Dans les montagnes mexicaines, il existe un maïs ancien avec d'énormes épis et d'étranges racines aériennes qui suintent une sorte de gel, ce qui pourrait révolutionner l'agriculture en réduisant le besoin de produits chimiques toxiques. Les habitants cultivent ce maïs unique depuis plus de 2 000 ans. Une autre plante étonnante est le bambou, qui est un aliment de base dans des pays comme la Chine, le Japon et les Philippines, et est même utilisé dans les plats traditionnels au Bangladesh. Puis il y a l'arbre de quinquina, dont l'écorce est utilisée pour fabriquer la quinine, un remède contre le paludisme. Ce sont les Quechuas du Pérou qui ont appris aux nouveaux arrivants comment utiliser efficacement l'écorce de quinquina.  Animation créée par Sympa. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Musique par Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com   Pour ne rien perdre de Sympa, abonnez-vous!: https://goo.gl/6E4Xna​ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nos réseaux sociaux : Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sympasympacom/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sympa.officiel/  Stock de fichiers (photos, vidéos et autres): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Si tu en veux encore plus, fais un tour ici:  http://sympa-sympa.com

Transcript

00:00In the mountains of Mexico, there is an ancient variety of corn, twice as large as the average

00:06country, and which has amazing aerial roots.

00:10These roots produce a mucus that could revolutionize agriculture and finally make obsolete all

00:16its chemical products.

00:18The inhabitants have been growing this mysterious corn for more than 2,000 years and have passed

00:23on this tradition from generation to generation.

00:28A scientist in Oaxaca heard about this gigantic cereal and decided to examine it more closely.

00:34When he finally saw it, he could not believe his eyes.

00:37The plant seemed to have come out of a myth, reaching 4 to 5 meters in height, with curious

00:42outgrowths sprouting from its stems.

00:46And, hold on tight, this one was dripping with a thick viscous substance, acting like

00:52a self-fertilizer.

00:54No need to add artificial fertilizers.

00:59This is of paramount importance, because most cereals cannot regulate their own nitrogen

01:04levels, which forces farmers to sprinkle them with fertilizers rich in this element.

01:09Not only does this harm the environment, but it is also expensive.

01:13But with this new corn mucus, we could solve a systemic problem of our food supply.

01:19It is like a biological pass-through that could revolutionize agriculture as we know it.

01:26This super plant is called the Holotone corn.

01:29It was a well-kept secret for the rest of Mexico until the 1980s, and it took another 30 years

01:35for a team of researchers to take a serious look at this exceptional corn.

01:39They knew they would need the help of local communities, and therefore set up a laboratory

01:44on site.

01:46This corn secretes a mucus that contains bacteria capable of converting atmospheric nitrogen

01:52into a form that can be assimilated by the plant.

01:55This means that it can draw 80% of its nitrogen from the air, which makes it the Holy Grail

02:00of agriculture.

02:03But of course, some people had to spoil the party by disputing the rights of this

02:07prodigious corn.

02:09This is called biopiracy, and it is completely unacceptable.

02:13The indigenous peoples, who have been perpetuating this form of agriculture for centuries, claim

02:17that it is not just a simple plant, but a part of their culture and heritage.

02:22Unfortunately, Holotone corn is not yet widely exploited, because it does not meet modern

02:28industrial standards.

02:30However, scientists are trying to crossbreed it with other varieties to combine the qualities.

02:36They have already reduced its growth time by half and increased nitrogen absorption by

02:4140%.

02:42But they estimate that it will still take a few more generations to obtain a more or

02:46less stable hybrid corn.

02:50Imagine if we could use atmospheric nitrogen for other cereals like rice or wheat.

02:55This would significantly reduce our need for artificial fertilizers, which harm our

03:00environment.

03:01It is incredible to think that a little-known corn, taken from the misty mountains of Mexico,

03:06could help fight hunger in the world.

03:08This demonstrates the crucial importance of diversity for our survival.

03:14Speaking of plants that could help us survive in the future, did you know that Mars could

03:19be ideal for the culture of green leaf vegetables?

03:22The soil there is rich in iron, which means that our favorite green vegetables could

03:27thrive there.

03:28And with a future on Earth that seems increasingly uncertain, it is not so easy to start

03:33considering other planets where we could live.

03:36But, unfortunately, most of the planets are too hot to allow life.

03:40Seriously, Venus can reach up to 480 degrees.

03:43It is more than enough to melt lead.

03:46But Mars is different.

03:48Although it is a cold desert today, billions of years ago it was covered with water and

03:53perhaps even with life.

03:55Scientists are already studying which plants could grow on Martian soil.

03:59And it turns out that lettuce, onions, chaff, peas, garlic, and even peas

04:06Yes, these bad herbs from your garden could all potentially survive there.

04:11Spinach is another option, thanks to all this iron present in the soil.

04:16Who knows?

04:17Maybe one day we will all gnaw on Martian micro-thumbs, if the holotone corn cannot

04:22meet all our needs?

04:26Another great vegetable that could help us in the future is bamboo.

04:30While countries like China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia are

04:36crazy about these delicious bamboo shoots, they are also very popular in the islands.

04:41In Bangladesh, we even find a traditional bamboo-based dish.

04:46No wonder it is nicknamed the king of vegetables.

04:49It is delicious and full of health benefits.

04:52In addition, a half cup would contain up to 11% of your daily potassium needs.

04:59If you have the chance to come across fresh bamboo shoots, look for those that are firm

05:03and heavy, with a wide base.

05:05And do not let them turn green.

05:07This means that they have been exposed to the sun for too long and will have a bitter taste.

05:12If you feel adventurous, you can even harvest your own shoots.

05:16In Hawaii, for example.

05:18But bamboo is not limited to food.

05:21It offers many other advantages.

05:23It is the plant that grows the fastest on earth.

05:27Some types of bamboo can grow one meter in one day.

05:30That is, more than two centimeters per hour on average.

05:34Bamboo is also durable and renewable because it spreads very quickly.

05:39A bamboo forest grows much faster than an ordinary tree forest.

05:43Which makes it a kind of prodigy of the plant kingdom.

05:47Some studies also indicate that bamboo can produce up to 35% more oxygen than a coniferous forest.

05:54And guess what?

05:55It can replace wood in almost all uses.

05:58There are thousands of bamboo products that are just as efficient as their tree counterparts.

06:03We are talking about paper, soil coatings, musical instruments, furniture, building materials.

06:10Whatever you can imagine, in short, bamboo can take care of it.

06:17Let's move on to a serious subject.

06:19According to British researchers, we exploit only a small part of the potential of plants.

06:24Let's talk about super plants first.

06:26Did you know that the vegetables in your plate were once ordinary plants?

06:30However, in nature, there are particularly robust plants that have developed a resistance to all kinds of parasites and diseases.

06:38The selectors work to cross these wild specimens with our domestic cultures,

06:43making them all the more resistant, but not without preserving all the advantages that we appreciate.

06:48It is a global effort, with countries like Brazil, China and India at the forefront.

06:54And with a world population supposed to exceed 9 billion, these super plants could really save lives.

07:02Then comes the list of medicinal plants.

07:05We have known for centuries that plants can heal us.

07:08But are we really the best part?

07:10There are more than 2,800 species of medicinal plants.

07:14But less than 16% of them are actually used in medicine.

07:18It's crazy!

07:19This industry weighs several billion, and countries like Germany are already plagiarizing plant-based remedies.

07:25But we have to be careful.

07:27Now let's talk about steroid-based bananas.

07:30Well, not exactly.

07:32But did you know that we could actually make bananas bigger and tastier?

07:36By altering their genes, which does not seem to pose a problem to our neighbors in the Atlantic,

07:41scientists can create bananas that are resistant to diseases and parasites,

07:45capable of growing in rougher climates.

07:48This means a much better yield.

07:52But don't worry too much.

07:54Because fire is actually a natural process in some ecosystems.

07:58Scientists are working to identify the family of plants capable of resisting fires,

08:03in order to create more resilient forests.

08:06These plants could even be used to make fire.

08:09But we don't know for sure.

08:11We don't know for sure.

08:13We don't know for sure.

08:15We don't know for sure.

08:17We don't know for sure.

08:19We don't know for sure.

08:21We don't know for sure.

08:23We don't know for sure.

08:25We don't know for sure.

08:27We don't know for sure.

08:29We don't know for sure.

08:31We don't know for sure.

08:33We don't know for sure.

08:35We don't know for sure.

08:37We don't know for sure.

08:39We don't know for sure.

08:41We don't know for sure.

08:43We don't know for sure.

08:45We also tell incredible stories about the quinquina.

08:49For example, have you ever heard of these sick lions that eat up the bark?

08:54Or this ferocious lion that drank from a pond where quinquina bark was soaked

08:58and was instantly healed?

09:00But let's be realistic.

09:02These legends are probably just trying to embellish an already fascinating story.

09:06In any case, the quinquina is a real hero.

09:09And all heroes don't necessarily wear a cape.

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