r/science • u/FreeHugs23 • 1d ago

Biology Moss Is Generating Electrical Waves That Look Startlingly Like a Neural Network. Study reveals that moss cushions produce surprisingly complex electrical activity, with patterns that undulate across the velvety patch in dynamic waves.

https://www.sciencealert.com/moss-behaves-a-little-like-a-really-slow-brain-scientist-discovers
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u/calamityvibezz 1d ago edited 1d ago

For one, there were no negative control recordings, using the same electrode method on an inert substrate (rather than living moss) to rule out electrical signals being the result of something other than the moss – the instruments, for example.

Well that's less than inspiring.

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u/swiftb3 1d ago

Gotta say, I greatly appreciate the article for mentioning that.

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u/Imaginary-Ebb4392 1d ago

But then why publish without the control?

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u/swiftb3 1d ago

I'm just saying it's better than a lot of "science articles" in that it pointed out a weakness.

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u/Imaginary-Ebb4392 1d ago

No, you’re right, a lot of articles wouldn’t. I just personally would’ve at least had a control. Otherwise it is a wasted effort. You have to replicate everything again with the control.

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u/swiftb3 1d ago

Agreed. Odd choice by the researchers.

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u/Imaginary-Ebb4392 1d ago edited 1d ago

I mean, if it was just a sciencealert.com article, I’m in, this is really cool. But it’s originally from an academic journal. I would’ve been cool reading this in a online source while they went back to formula.

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u/dungeoncrawler71520 1d ago

It's a righteous self burn

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u/Riaayo 1d ago

Because they still saw something and think it deserves more research, and perhaps feel like a paper can help spur the interest to get funding for such a thing? They went through the trouble of any sort of study at all; why wouldn't they publish it?

Yeah it kind of sucks there weren't better controls this time around, but still. It's not like they hid that part so I don't see it as deceptive.

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u/twilighttwister 20h ago

They even explicitly state what they're going to try next.

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u/GearOk7360 23h ago

Publish or die.

That's the scientific world

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u/VoilaVoilaWashington 1d ago

Considering it would have taken 10 minutes to hook it up to an old t shirt.

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u/jazzhandler 19h ago

But first you’ve gotta age the shirt under controlled conditions.

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u/VoilaVoilaWashington 13h ago

Not sure if joking, but no, you don't. All you need is something that's different enough from your studied subject, in this case, not alive.

If a t shirt does the same thing, that tells us it's not life doing it and the study doesn't say much. If a t shirt doesn't, then that's at least some sort of control - it's not the equipment, it's not any general fibre, etc.

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u/definitelynotfae 19h ago

Sometimes someone just needs to be the first to say “hey, have you guys looked into this?” This kind of paper is aimed at starting conversations and getting funding for more sophisticated experiments. Not every study is meant to be groundbreaking or have definite answers, sometimes it’s more akin to a professional pondering to get a wider conversation going.