Cell GPS that guides leaf development found - Nature. It opens up new ways to obtain more resistant and productive plants.
The discovery confirms the theory proposed over 70 years ago by Alan Turing, one of the fathers of modern computer science. The mechanism based on small RNAs, which allows cells to coordinate with each other autonomously, fits perfectly into this concept. The research also provides surprising validation for Turing's theory: the famous mathematician had proposed that simple interactions between molecules could be at the origin of the complex 'patterns' and structures that we see in living organisms.