Pollen Is Not Plant Sperm (It’s MUCH Weirder)

Plant pollen is everywhere in springtime, but because it is so small, you probably don’t know that what is making you sneeze is a living, breathing, mobile version of the plant that forms half of the it’s entire bizarre life cycle.

LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Alternation of generations: a life cycle in plants where an organism alternates between two distinct multicellular stages.
Gametophyte: the gamete-producing and usually haploid phase, producing the zygote from which the sporophyte arises. It is the dominant form in bryophytes.
Pollination: the transfer of pollen to a stigma, ovule, flower, or plant to allow fertilization.
Sporophyte: the asexual and usually diploid phase, producing spores from which the gametophyte arises. It is the dominant form in vascular plants, e.g. the frond of a fern.

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CREDITS
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Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director
Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist
Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music

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REFERENCES
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Gladish, Dan. “Plant Parts.” American Scientist, 6 Feb. 2017, http://www.americanscientist.org/article/plant-parts.

Horst, N. A., and R. Reski. “Alternation of Generations – Unravelling the Underlying Molecular Mechanism of a 165-Year-Old Botanical Observation.” Plant Biology, vol. 18, no. 4, 9 May 2016, pp. 549–551, https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12468

Life Cycles: Meiosis and the Alternation of Generations.

Mora, Camilo, et al. “How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?” PLoS Biology, vol. 9, no. 8, 23 Aug. 2011, p. e1001127

Urry, Lisa A, et al. Campbell Biology. 11th ed., New York Pearson, 2017.

Wilsen, Kathleen L., and Peter K. Hepler. “Sperm Delivery in Flowering Plants: The Control of Pollen Tube Growth.” BioScience, vol. 57, no. 10, 1 Nov. 2007, pp. 835–844, https://doi.org/10.1641/b571006

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Norbert Woehnl 📷 | Yanagimachi Street in #Ueda, #Nagano Prefecture.

Good morning from #Tokyo on a fairly bright Tuesday! Starting the day off with some #filmphotography from historic Yanagimachi Street in #Ueda, #Nagano Prefecture.📷 Mamiya 6, 50mm f/4🎞️ Kodak Portra 400#photography #streetphotography #japan #ArtYear #EastCoastKin @bskyphotos.bsky.social

— Norbert Woehnl 📷 (@norbertwoehnl.com) 2025-03-18T00:20:14.940Z

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A Trio of Stop-Motion Shorts Utilize an Involved 3D-Printing Technique | Colossal

March 8, 2025
Animation
Film
Grace Ebert

Just to have one character walk across the set, the filmmakers of Eastend Western utilized eight unique 3D-printed figures.

Already more intricate than digital techniques, stop-motion animation typically involves sets and characters designed to make subtle movements so that filmmakers can capture minute shifts frame by frame. Directors Jack Cunningham and Nicolas Ménard, of Eastend Western, have chosen the even more involved process of replacement animation for their recent project.

Popularized by George Pal in the 1930s and ’40s, replacement animation involves creating distinctive models for each movement. Where Pal used wooden characters, though, Cunningham and Ménard opted for 3D-printed figures for their new anthology, TRIPLE BILL.

Comprising a trio of films all under two minutes, the collection spans “three genres to survey the atmospheric potential of the technique,” the directors say. The first is “BLUE GOOSE,” a western mocking the current state of social media, that features an enormous cowboy statue that leaves his post at the gas station. Just to have the figure walk across the set required eight unique models.

The second two are similarly labor-intensive. “CLUB ROW” is a dizzying film noir about data privacy featuring an endlessly spinning staircase, and “MYTHACRYLATE” is a fantastic glimpse at the battles we have with ourselves.

As the behind-the-scenes photos below show, each model had to be cut, sanded, and painted individually before being precisely placed in position. Ménard told It’s Nice That that elements like lighting, sound, and camera angles were particularly important to help convey emotion in TRIPLE BILL, which envelops viewers in a hypnotic critique of technology and its effects.

More: A Trio of Stop-Motion Shorts Utilize an Involved 3D-Printing Technique

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Wrapping earth in a blanket of satellites

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“They have mafia rules – there’s no rule of law” | Tell Me More with Anne Applebaum

Anne Applebaum warns that while autocracies are rising, democracies are slow to respond. In her book Autocracy Inc., she highlights the need for a united counterforce. Watch the new episode of Jochen Bittner’s “Tell Me More” with author and historian Anne Applebaum.

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#democracy #anneapplebaum #autocrats #zeitonline

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How to get yourself out of the water if you fall through thin ice.

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Scientists developed autonomous drones that can fly in the air and dive underwater

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Crida de las fallas 2025. #valencia #fallas #fallas2025 #spain #spanishculture #celebration

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Fallas Valencia 2025, Mascletà Domingo 16 de Marzo 2025, Pirotecnia Valenciana

16 Mar 2025 VALENCIA
#falles2025 #fallas2025 #falles25 #fallas25

http://www.vivirlapirotecnia.com
http://www.amigospirotecnia.com
http://www.pirofan.com

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In 1954, Léon Theremin demonstrated the Thereminvox by performing the song “Don’t Scold Me, Dear”, composed by Alexander Varlamov in 1841.

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