Profile picture
James Wong @Botanygeek
, 4 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
What causes variegation in plants?

Chimeras are when 2 genetically distinct individuals live within the same plant.

Here cells of a mutant plant that can’t produce chlorophyll live parasitically off those of a normal green one that can.
The same thing can happen in fruit too.

Check out cells for a red and yellow apple variety living side-by-side in the same fruit.

You can even generate such mutations by exposing the plants to radiation or toxic chemicals. 🍎🍏☢️
This couldn’t possibly happen in animals though, right?

Yeah it can! Even humans. Basically twins living in the same body...

But who cares about animals anyway, when you have plants? 😂🌱
If anyone knows why the immune system of these animals aren’t in constant battle with the cells of each other (like when foreign tissue is rejected in an organ transplant) I’d love to know!
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to James Wong
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Botanygeek see all

Profile picture
Thinking of starting a ‘detox’ or ‘cleanse’ this January?

While there is absolutely no science behind the idea, it does offer us an interesting insight into how our brains are wired up.
The idea behind a detox is that our bodies are constantly accumulating toxins. Ultimately these toxins are the cause of all ill health.

This is an idea that appears cross culturally, and has been recorded in some of the earliest texts on health.
Interestingly, what these toxins actually are is never identified, but we *are* told what causes them to build up: Basically anything fun / tasty.

The solution? To purge these from you body. How? By doing something really not very fun: Laxatives, fasting, enemas, blood letting.
Read 5 tweets
Profile picture
I see this image is doing the rounds again...

Apparently putting a warning label on daffodils is ‘health and safety gone mad’.

Or, worse, sign people are stupid & deserve to get very ill if they eat them. #darwinawards

But here’s how a botanist sees this...
Three of these are popular vegetables, eaten all over the world & also sold in Britain.

BUT one shows daffodil buds, which are pretty horrendously toxic.

Non plant geeks, can you spot the difference?
In fact, daffodils are one of the most common causes of plant poisoning in the U.K.

Made worse as they were (until extremely recently) often sold & stored alongside fruit and veg.

Spot the difference between their bulbs & shallots.
Read 5 tweets
Profile picture
When I was a kid, the Singapore river verged on being an open sewer. And otters were thought extinct on the island.

Here’s what effective green policies can do! #Inspirational #conservation #otters #urbangreening
How do you help critically-endangered pangolins cross the road?

Build a eco-link!

These wildlife bridges (not open to people) connect rainforest reserves in Singapore.

At a cost of $12M each, they are still thought worth it. #urbangreening #gardencity
On the subject of greening motorways...

This is Singapore’s equivalent of the M1.

The transformational power of urban planting is pretty magical. #horticulture #urbangreening
Read 11 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
Watch Minister @PiyushGoyal #LIVE speaking on release of Cleanliness Survey Report, in New Delhi
प्रधानमंत्री @NarendraModi ने पूरे देश में स्वच्छता का आंदोलन चलाया है, मैं समझता हूँ कि महात्मा गांधी को इससे बड़ी श्रद्धांजलि नही हो सकती : @PiyushGoyal
देश की 125 करोड़ जनसंख्या जनभागीदारी से इस मिशन को अपना चुकी है, जहाँ भी हम जाते हैं वहाँ हमे महसूस होता है कि लोगों की सोच में बदलाव आया है : @PiyushGoyal
Read 12 tweets
Profile picture
Here’s @WIRED on digital citizenry in the 2000 election. “Technology has gone mainstream in a flag. Americans are racing ahead, looking for new ideas - now politicians just have to catch up.”

I have two comments to make... (1/x)
#wiredarchive
First, it’s amazing what counted as “very wired” in 2000. This is the height of the Internet boom, months before the first crash.

They define “very wired” as ppl who use 4 or more of: the Internet, a cell/wireless phone, a computer, fax, email, online banking, & online shopping.
So, in 2000, if you used a connected computer (thus internet and email) and had a fax machine or cell phone, you were “very Wired.” And that’s only 31% of the People surveyed!

That’s just a completely foreign communications landscape to the one we now occupy. (3/x)
Read 13 tweets
Profile picture
#LIVE ⚡️WATCH NOW 🚨#BreakingNews @POTUS @RealDonaldTrump Meets newly released Prisoners Arriving from North Korea H/T @GST_Politics #MAGA #KAG 🇺🇸
.@POTUS & @FLOTUS have just arrived at Andrews Air Force Base and have disembarked Marine One our US Presidential helicopter. @VP @SecondLady arrived shortly before them. #LIVE ⚡️WATCH NOW 🚨H/T @GST_Politics #MAGA #KAG 🇺🇸
#BreakingNews ⚡️The three American detainees have landed. Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song & Tony Kim. @realDonaldTrump is going to be greeting them along with @FLOTUS @VP & @SecondLady and accompanying entourage. Plane doors have now opened. H/T @GST_Politics #MAGA #KAG #NorthKorea
Read 17 tweets
Profile picture
Thread on the shrinking kingdom (not just the university), or how we got lost in liberalism's conservatism.
Liberal forms of inclusion, effective coordination, and ordinary conviviality are increasingly monopolized by those in higher social echelons and within strong institutions--with license and powers of decision even more sharply concentrated within those same institutions.
Here, more or less everyone gets paid, fails up, discomfort is unacceptable, members are insured that they will reap the benefits rather than consequences of risks and errors. This is the world of aspiration, techno-optimism, can do, win-win, relatively equal liberty.
Read 11 tweets
Profile picture
Here’s Daniel Hannan. He doesn’t understand the #CustomsUnion, the #SingleMarket or the #Schengen area.
I think we need to help Dan. Norway and Switzerland are in the #SchengenArea. Within the Schengen Area people can cross the borders without passport control. Try driving a lorry full of goods into Norway nd Switzerland and you go through customs checks.
This is Svinesund Customs Station at the main border crossing between Norway and Sweden. It can handle up to 2500 lorries a day. Clearing customs usually takes less than ten minutes, but may tale a couple of hours.
Read 14 tweets
Profile picture
#LIVE NOW: @NAVSURFOR VADM Tom Rowden speaks at #SNA2018
VADM Rowden: We are the preeminent Navy on the face of the Earth. We are the preeminent Surface Navy on the face of the Earth. That is not given, that is earned.
VADM Rowden: #SurForStrategy describes the return to #SeaControl, which is the timeless & universal purpose of the @USNavy. It also highlights the implementation of #DistributedLethality as an operational & organizational principle for achieving & sustaining sea control. #SNA2018
Read 24 tweets

Trending hashtags

#Time #Democrats #here #EgyptStation #Twitter #MBS #CIA #UK #productplacement #MIC #Apple #LIVE #45DaysOfElvisCostello #USA #SmartWatch #khasoggi #skillz #TrumpJr #LifeInNorway #SingleMarket #MerryXmas #Reuter #Russia #AccidentsWillHappen #US

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member and get exclusive features!

Premium member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year)

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!