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Once upon a time,
there was a tiny, neglected plant.
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A plant capable of working wonders.
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An ingenious and resilient plant.
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Long underestimated.
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It is a plant that excites
the passions of the scientists
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working to unveil its mysteries.
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It grows everywhere on the planet.
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It transcends the landscape.
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And gives us a glimpse
of surprising magical worlds.
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This small organism tells
a marvellous story about our world.
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Mosses are essential to
life on Earth,
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and they have been reshaping
our planet since the dawn of time.
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In Japan, mosses are revered.
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The Japanese look upon them
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as Westerners might look upon
a heavenly constellation,
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with the same awe and wonder.
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00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,600
Here, the forces of nature,
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such as the wind, the rivers,
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animals, and moss
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are venerated. They are careful
not to disturb the plant
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00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,920
and let it cover sacred sites.
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00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:38,280
They care for the mosses
with endless skill and patience.
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They go out of their way to protect
and contemplate the mosses.
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Every detail is important.
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Anything that might disturb or harm
the moss is meticulously removed,
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as if each sprig
were a priceless treasure.
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The garden at Kokedera,
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also known as the Moss Temple,
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is an extraordinary sanctuary.
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It is home to more than
120 species of moss.
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Unlike the complex Latin names
used in Europe,
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the Japanese give mosses
more delicate, intuitive names
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like Spiral Moss...
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..Whip Moss...
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..Shining Branch...
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..White Hair...
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..and Grandfather's Beard.
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Mould Moss is very easy to locate.
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All you have to do is bend down,
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take a sniff,
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and let yourself be
guided by its characteristic odour.
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Other mosses give off the aroma
of peppers, cucumbers or oysters.
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In this temple, each sprig of moss
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is treated like a precious jewel,
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fragile and delicate.
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But there are other,
less hospitable places
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where the mosses can show off their
exceptional capacities for survival.
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The volcanic highlands
of Lakagigar in Iceland
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reveal some of
the superpowers of moss.
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How did our frail little mosses
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manage to invade these lunar
landscapes scorched by lava flows?
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In 1783, one of the most
violent volcanic eruptions
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of the last 10,000 years
happened here.
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00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:44,240
Magnea Magnusdottir
is an enthusiastic biologist.
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She's studying the grey,
velvety moss
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that covers the surface
of this area - the Racomitrium.
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It has taken over two centuries
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for nature to produce this
fragile coat of moss.
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60 centimetres thick,
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it covers this vast,
ten-metre-high lava field.
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00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,800
Over time,
the moss has grown thicker.
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It has created a fertile,
stable topsoil
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that allows flowering plants
and shrubs to grow.
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The moss is a pioneer plant.
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It has taken hold
where no-one expected it to -
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in this harsh,
inhospitable landscape.
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00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,120
To understand how that was possible,
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we have to go back to a key moment
in our planet's history.
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450 million years ago, the oceans
underwent an enormous upheaval.
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00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:26,400
Algae took advantage of the tidal
ebb and flow to move onto the land,
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00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,240
gradually adapting
and evolving into mosses.
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Their spread provided a layer
of soil over the volcanic rock.
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These very first terrestrial plants
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were one of the main sources
of oxygen in the atmosphere,
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00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:52,400
enabling other forms of life
to evolve and thrive.
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00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,920
Mosses have colonised nearly
the entire surface of the Earth,
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00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,080
transforming an arid planet
into a lush planet.
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00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,240
Mosses grow nearly everywhere
on the Earth.
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We have discovered close to
25,000 species.
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00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,000
The conditions in the gorges
of the Toul-Goulic in Brittany
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are ideal for mosses.
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The light is filtered
by leafy branches.
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And it is always humid.
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Moss grows everywhere.
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00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,560
Moss specialists, or bryologists,
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come from near and far to study
these mosses, or bryophytes.
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00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:20,520
Vincent Hugonnot is one of
France's leading bryologists.
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He never goes anywhere
without his favourite tool.
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00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:35,840
Grasping the beauty of mosses
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is first of all
learning how to look at them.
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Observing them reveals surprising
and widely varying forms.
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00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:21,840
Because what bryologists like best
is recognising and naming mosses,
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detecting the rarest species
and immersing themselves
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00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,720
in anatomical detail.
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00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,000
Close observation of the mosses
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transforms them into lush jungles
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inhabited by fantastic creatures.
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An invaluable network
of living beings which spread,
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decompose and regulate
the microflorae of the ground.
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00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:00,840
These miniature forests are home
to crawling springtails,
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curious hairy moss mites
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and slimy roundworms.
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00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,080
If we look even more closely...
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..we can make out these unusual
micro shrimps, called rotifers,
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00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:24,840
and strange little
eight-legged creatures
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that browse on the surface
of the mosses -
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00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,000
tardigrades, or water bears.
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00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,280
These amazing creatures
are quite resourceful.
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00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:43,320
They can slow down their metabolism
to withstand drought,
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a fascinating adaptation
that they share with mosses.
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This heightened tolerance to drought
and the moss' capacity to revive
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when conditions become favourable
again are major assets.
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They allow mosses to withstand
extreme conditions
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better than any other plants,
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even in the harshest environments.
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00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:29,480
A British ecologist came
face-to-face with this phenomenon,
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called reviviscence,
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on an expedition to the South Pole
to study global warming.
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00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,080
This is Peter Convey.
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00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:48,000
In 2014, he revived a moss plant
embedded in the frozen soil.
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His discovery sent a shock wave
through the scientific community.
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What we were trying to do
was to sample a core
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through one of these
deep peat banks.
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00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:03,400
So several cores were taken
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to be analysed for various chemicals
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that are indicators of climate.
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But we took an extra core
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simply because we wanted to analyse
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the biological properties
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of the core itself.
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So, not the chemistry,
not the climate reconstruction.
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We simply wanted to see, was there
any life within the core itself?
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We wrap it up carefully and cleanly.
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We pack it into boxes
and we carry it
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round about an hour and a half's
walk back to the station
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where we can put it in freezers,
and that's all we do with it.
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On the station,
we store them in freezers
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until we can get them
back to the UK.
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00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,520
Peter Convey came to analyse
the soil chemistry.
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00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,320
This moss sample was not
the primary focus of his expedition.
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00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:09,000
But because he was interested in
the characteristics of bryophytes,
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his attention was drawn
to the exceptional thickness
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of the moss sample he took.
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We have a very clear clue
that these moss banks are old,
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for the very simple reason
that in the Antarctic
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mosses grow about
half a centimetre a year.
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So if you've got
a two-metre-thick moss bank,
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you've got many centuries
of moss at the bottom,
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you know it's going to be old.
The only way to test how old it is
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is to use radiocarbon dating.
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So the key thing, if we know
we've got a metre of moss -
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we had a metre and a half
of the moss in this core -
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we know that the bottom of that
is many centuries old.
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So the next question was to find out
how many centuries old.
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The thawed out moss
immediately showed signs of life,
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and thanks to carbon-14 dating,
Peter made a remarkable discovery.
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He had revived
a 1,500-year-old moss.
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It was around when the Roman Empire
was on the decline.
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I was rather excited!
I mean, that really...
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It was a brand-new discovery.
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This moss was happily growing away
on Signy Island
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a millennia and a half
before we discovered Antarctica.
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It's a step change
in our understanding
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of how long something can survive
for. It obviously was alive,
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we haven't created life, but
we've stimulated it back into growth
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and it's by far the oldest one I'm
aware of that that's happened to.
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Could it be that mosses
have discovered
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the secret of immortality?
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What is for certain is that
they are still full of mysteries.
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And what about these colonies
of moss called glacier mice?
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They can survive on ice.
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Their most surprising characteristic
is not their tolerance for cold,
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but their capacity to move
two and a half centimetres a day.
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Neither wind nor gravity
explain this phenomenon.
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So how do they do it?
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One explanation
is that our glacier mouse
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protects the ice beneath it
from the sun.
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When the ice around it melts,
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the moss is left perched
on a little ice island
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it has protected
from the sun's ultraviolet rays.
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It eventually tips over
and the process starts again,
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slowly transforming the moss
into a rolling ball.
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So much for the old saying
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a rolling stone gathers no moss.
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Mosses are discreet,
but grow all over the world.
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They can cope with extreme
temperature swings
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ranging from
-40 to +70 degrees Celsius.
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Bryophytes include mosses
that can survive
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in the hot springs in Iceland.
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Like this moss, the Solenostoma,
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that clings to rocks
in scorching Icelandic rivers.
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Bryophytes are one of the organisms
most capable of adapting
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to climate change.
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How can a plant be so resilient?
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00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,720
How has it managed to grow
everywhere on the planet?
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What is it secret?
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The moss' extreme resilience
lies in its simplicity.
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It is an organism that has
no flowers, no seeds and no roots.
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The moss does not draw the
nutriments it needs from a soil,
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00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:30,640
but from direct contact
with air and water.
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A few drops of water
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are enough to trigger
the moss' reproductive cycle.
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Water activates the spermatozoids,
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which swim to the female gamete.
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Fertilisation takes place.
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And a fairy-like ballet begins.
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After three weeks, the miraculous
cycle of life gets under way.
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Long filaments rise towards the sky.
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They are topped by small pods
which swell and open.
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They explode, releasing thousands
of spores, like a firework display,
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giving life to a new generation
of baby mosses.
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Mosses have retained features
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inherited from
their aquatic origins.
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As they evolved,
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they survived on a planet
with no atmosphere,
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bombarded by the radiation
from the sun and space.
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00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,800
This could help explain their
resistance to the radioactivity
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in the contamination zone
around Fukushima in Japan.
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Professor Masaki Shimamura
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is the director of the
Bryological Society of Japan.
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He has been studying the impact of
the nuclear catastrophe on mosses.
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This bioaccumulation by the mosses
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has led Professor Shimamura
to conclude
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00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,520
that the forests and dams
are the most contaminated areas.
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Rainwater soaks down
to the bottom of the valley,
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where record levels of radioactivity
can be observed.
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00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,120
The radioactivity
is then captured by the mosses.
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Lacking the protective cuticle found
on the surface of most plant leaves,
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the water is absorbed
into the interior of the moss,
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which then stores the contaminants.
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Bryophytes are very sensitive
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00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,240
and respond quickly
to environmental changes.
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00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:59,400
Mosses are reliable early warning
systems which allow us to measure
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00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:04,120
the quantity of radioactive
pollution in contamination zones.
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00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,480
If their DNA is damaged
by pollutants,
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00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:13,880
they continue to develop,
even after a nuclear catastrophe.
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But that is not all.
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00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,920
Mosses can also auto-regenerate
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00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:29,200
from a piece of stem
or a damaged leaf.
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00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:38,640
This miracle is possible thanks to
a cell only found in ferns, algae
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00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:43,320
and moss, which is capable of
reprogramming itself very quickly,
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00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:45,000
like a stem cell.
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00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:47,960
Like the heads
of the mythical Hydra,
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00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:50,920
each tiny,
ripped off fragment of moss
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can give birth to multiple
autonomous clones.
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A major asset
when it comes to expanding
247
00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:05,160
and conquering new territories.
248
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:12,880
But this depends on our little moss
encountering no new pollutants.
249
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:22,800
Otherwise, it can become very
vulnerable, like here in Iceland,
250
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:24,720
near this geothermal plant
251
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:29,440
that uses volcanic energy
to heat the capital Reykjavik.
252
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:21,280
To withstand the poisonous Gaussian
plumes, the mosses need help.
253
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,800
Magnea has come to their rescue
with an original recipe.
254
00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:28,480
It took her several years
to perfect it.
255
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,400
First, pick sprigs of moss,
256
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:37,880
taking care not to leave any holes.
257
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,560
Place the moss in a container
258
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,320
and carefully disentangle it.
259
00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:58,480
Roughly cut the moss.
260
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,080
A garden strimmer may be used.
261
00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,600
Pour in gallon after gallon
of fermented milk
262
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:11,160
and stir thoroughly
263
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:14,760
until you have a unique moss soup.
264
00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,960
The mixture is transported
to the site of the damage
265
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,000
and applied by hand.
266
00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:31,080
A milky crust develops,
267
00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:34,160
holding the chopped sprigs in place,
268
00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:35,680
and they rapidly multiply.
269
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,200
Thanks to Magnea's magic potion...
270
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:57,040
..and the capacity of the moss
to regenerate,
271
00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:00,840
it will take less than two years
to restore this site.
272
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,880
Iceland is a sanctuary for nature.
273
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:41,080
The country boasts
some strange species of moss.
274
00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:54,360
One of them even breathes.
275
00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,640
But is it actually a moss?
276
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,560
The golden plover has a very special
relationship with the mosses
277
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,400
that grow on the Icelandic heath.
278
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:13,720
This bird lays its eggs
in the ground
279
00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:16,680
in a little hollow dug by the male.
280
00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:21,160
At birth, the chicks' down mimics
the moss and its environment.
281
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:27,560
The golden plovers'
adult plumage is dynamic,
282
00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:31,480
but the chicks remain carefully
camouflaged on the heath.
283
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:53,480
In Vietnam, the mimicry is even
more marked in the mossy frog.
284
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:57,040
There are no soft,
velvety feathers here,
285
00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:00,080
but a slimy, knobbled epidermis.
286
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,440
When in danger,
this amphibian freezes
287
00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:13,080
and imitates a bryophyte
to hide from its predators.
288
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:28,880
The fox is also a valued friend
to a certain species of moss
289
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:31,120
that only grow on fox excrement.
290
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:46,040
Tetraplodon belongs to one of the
most elegant moss families on Earth,
291
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:49,280
but has a taste for faeces
and putrefaction.
292
00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:54,960
It is also capable
of olfactive mimicry,
293
00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:58,840
giving off a perfect imitation
of fox excrement odour...
294
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:03,600
..to attract coprophagic flies.
295
00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:07,040
This is an effective collaboration
with the insect,
296
00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:10,920
allowing the moss to spread
its spores by proxy into the wild.
297
00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:13,000
A unique feature amongst mosses
298
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,680
and a fine example of collaboration
299
00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:18,880
and co-evolution between species.
300
00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:31,200
It reveals an aptitude in mosses
to adapt in order to survive...
301
00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:37,120
..provided they do not
run into any obstacles.
302
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:47,640
Humans are hindering
the spread of mosses
303
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,000
and have declared war on them.
304
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:52,040
In many countries,
305
00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:55,440
they are considered parasitic plants
306
00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:59,440
associated with mould and decay.
307
00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:03,200
They eliminate the mosses
with chemical herbicides,
308
00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:09,720
which are also toxic for the wider
environment and even for humans.
309
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:21,680
A researcher at
the Sorbonne University in Paris
310
00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:25,080
may have found a formula
that could change this approach.
311
00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:31,840
Emmanuel Baudouin is working
on a patent for a natural herbicide.
312
00:39:55,880 --> 00:40:00,760
The adventure began in 2017
when Bastien Nay, a chemist,
313
00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:03,120
asked Emmanuel Baudouin
to work with him
314
00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:08,000
on a naturally occurring
molecule - Radulanin A.
315
00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:14,960
It comes from Radula,
a common moss found in our forests.
316
00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:17,320
They discovered that this molecule
317
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:20,480
possesses amazing
herbicidal properties.
318
00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:59,000
Emmanuel Baudouin
chose a tiny flowering plant
319
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,520
as a subject for his experiment.
320
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,480
Thale cress.
It is considered a weed.
321
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:14,280
He asked his team to mix the
Radulanin molecule from the moss
322
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:18,080
with the samples of thale cress
in a liquid solution.
323
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:24,640
The objective of the experiment was
to test the herbicidal properties
324
00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:27,880
of Radulanin A on the cress plant.
325
00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:18,680
It is an ironic twist
that this moss
326
00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:23,320
could someday contribute
to the elimination of other mosses.
327
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:25,440
Even though we cannot explain why,
328
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,920
it possesses the same devastating
capacities as glyphosate.
329
00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:34,640
Mosses, long overlooked by science,
330
00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:37,560
are gradually yielding up
their secrets,
331
00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:41,480
and new fields of exploration
are opening up for researchers.
332
00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:54,320
On the majestic, wild
Japanese island of Yakushima,
333
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:57,400
the mosses communicate
with the trees.
334
00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:08,040
The mountain is covered by a forest
of 1,000-year-old trees,
335
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:10,600
and is home to the yakusugi...
336
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:16,240
..giant cedar trees
which are considered sacred.
337
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:21,240
It is also a realm of mosses.
338
00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:31,480
A pilgrimage site for bryologists
from all over the world.
339
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:41,040
In this fairy tale undergrowth
inhabited by deer and macaques...
340
00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:46,760
..the mosses absorb considerable
quantities of water
341
00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:50,760
which they redistribute
to the roots of the tall trees.
342
00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:56,320
The thousands of species
of moss thriving here
343
00:43:56,320 --> 00:43:58,680
still have many secrets to reveal.
344
00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:05,920
Some protect the giant cedar trees
from pathogenic bacteria
345
00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:09,160
thanks to their
antibacterial properties.
346
00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:10,800
Like guardians,
347
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:15,800
they have a considerable effect
on the habitat that they colonise.
348
00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:21,560
This antibacterial action shows
just how much science could learn
349
00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:26,160
from these mosses
in the search for new medicines.
350
00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:30,440
These tiny plants,
too long overlooked,
351
00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:36,040
could play a pivotal role
in unexpected fields of science.
352
00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:50,560
In one of Europe's oldest
observatories in Copenhagen,
353
00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:53,560
astrophysicist Jophiel Wiis
354
00:44:53,560 --> 00:44:56,520
and his colleagues
on the SpaceMoss programme
355
00:44:56,520 --> 00:44:59,080
have genetically modified a moss.
356
00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:08,960
His goal is to study the moss'
capacity to survive
357
00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:12,280
in the hostile environment on Mars.
358
00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:18,200
When you do space travel,
359
00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:21,240
every kilo that you bring into orbit
360
00:45:21,240 --> 00:45:24,360
or to another planet
is immensely expensive.
361
00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:27,720
And just the medicine alone
for a three-year journey
362
00:45:27,720 --> 00:45:30,080
where you want to make sure
that people are healthy
363
00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:33,400
and come back safe,
you need so much medicine,
364
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:37,240
so much food, so much equipment
and supplies, so much of everything.
365
00:45:37,240 --> 00:45:42,600
And if we can make a moss
that is capable of producing
366
00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:46,880
certain types of medicine, then you
just have to bring a little patch
367
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:49,600
of the moss
that can produce penicillin
368
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:53,080
or whatever compound you're after.
369
00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:58,200
In the near future,
moss could produce medicine
370
00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:01,440
that astronauts
could cultivate on Mars.
371
00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:05,520
On the condition, of course, that
Wiis' genetically modified moss
372
00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:09,120
survives the Martian environment.
373
00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:13,560
So how can the moss' resistance
be tested on Earth?
374
00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:16,040
The members
of the SpaceMoss laboratory
375
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:20,280
at the National Institute of
Copenhagen came up with a solution.
376
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:27,560
They designed a machine
377
00:46:27,560 --> 00:46:31,520
that artificially reproduces
the Martian environment.
378
00:46:34,440 --> 00:46:39,320
On Mars you need something that's
very, very harsh and resilient.
379
00:46:39,320 --> 00:46:43,240
Mosses can survive
a lot of extreme situations.
380
00:46:43,240 --> 00:46:46,920
They don't grow very fast, but...
381
00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:50,400
..they just stick around
when other things die.
382
00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:54,040
And that's something you need
if you want to go to space.
383
00:46:54,040 --> 00:46:56,840
OK, so we have the moss.
384
00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:58,640
And the Mars Chamber.
385
00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:00,920
And then we have the sluice here.
386
00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:03,800
Which is the entrance
to the Mars volume.
387
00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:09,080
And in here we can place
the moss...in the sluice.
388
00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:16,160
Then we can go over here.
389
00:47:18,080 --> 00:47:19,400
The sluice port...
390
00:47:25,680 --> 00:47:30,760
Get the moss into the main chamber.
391
00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:34,560
Close up the sluice port again,
all the way.
392
00:47:37,480 --> 00:47:39,600
When the airlock closes,
393
00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:42,840
the chamber becomes
completely airtight.
394
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:45,760
The moss then experiences
a simulation
395
00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:49,280
of extreme atmospheric
conditions on Mars.
396
00:47:51,920 --> 00:47:56,400
Pump in a lot of CO2 in order to
simulate the Martian atmosphere.
397
00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:58,720
That's over here.
398
00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:00,120
And on...
399
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:08,960
That creates a vacuum inside
of the tiny chamber.
400
00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:11,240
So we have the Martian atmosphere
in the whole chamber
401
00:48:11,240 --> 00:48:14,840
and then we have a tiny volume
where you also have the pressure,
402
00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:16,840
or the lack of pressure.
403
00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:25,120
That's the UV lamp turning on. And
then we have a Martian atmosphere.
404
00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:27,840
Inside the chamber,
we have the Martian pressure,
405
00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:30,200
the Martian radiation,
the temperature,
406
00:48:30,200 --> 00:48:33,640
and if we also want Martian soil
and perchlorates,
407
00:48:33,640 --> 00:48:38,200
we can put it under the sample
that we put into the chamber.
408
00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:46,320
It is as if Jophiel's moss has been
transported 70 million kilometres,
409
00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:49,680
and he can observe all the effects
of the Martian environment
410
00:48:49,680 --> 00:48:51,480
on the moss plant.
411
00:48:56,200 --> 00:48:59,600
And that's a very good
simulation of Mars.
412
00:49:04,000 --> 00:49:08,440
Jophiel's modified moss survive
temperature swings found on Mars,
413
00:49:08,440 --> 00:49:11,920
which can range from +25 degrees
414
00:49:11,920 --> 00:49:17,360
to -120 degrees Celsius
in a single night.
415
00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:20,280
The first stage of the research
has been completed.
416
00:49:25,720 --> 00:49:29,160
NASA is interested
in the SpaceMoss programme
417
00:49:29,160 --> 00:49:32,440
and has contacted the laboratory.
418
00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:36,880
Jophiel is a candidate to join
the European Space Agency
419
00:49:36,880 --> 00:49:41,640
and one day hopes to test
his mosses in outer space.
420
00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:45,680
So we think of the Earth
as the blue planet
421
00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:47,560
and we think of Mars
as the red planet.
422
00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:50,400
But I think it would be so cool if,
in hundreds of years,
423
00:49:50,400 --> 00:49:53,400
we would be looking up at Mars
and thinking about it
424
00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:57,080
as the green planet, because mosses
had covered the entire surface.
425
00:49:57,080 --> 00:50:01,600
It may or may not happen,
but I think it would be awesome.
426
00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:05,800
But to me, personally,
I think travelling into space
427
00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:07,480
and going to other planets
428
00:50:07,480 --> 00:50:11,760
and becoming a multiplanetary
species is just...
429
00:50:11,760 --> 00:50:13,800
..such a romantic idea.
430
00:50:24,880 --> 00:50:29,960
For Jophiel, mosses might help
open doors to interplanetary travel.
431
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:35,800
These were the first plants to
successfully colonise our planet.
432
00:50:37,680 --> 00:50:41,120
Could this scenario
repeat itself elsewhere?
433
00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:51,480
In the course of evolution,
mosses have acquired the capacity
434
00:50:51,480 --> 00:50:57,080
to resist extreme temperatures,
pollution and radiation.
435
00:51:02,520 --> 00:51:06,160
Understanding their versatility
and resistance
436
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:09,280
could lead us towards
future discoveries
437
00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:14,760
and allow us to imagine
new scientific perspectives.
438
00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:18,360
These magical mosses work wonders
439
00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:23,320
and we are only beginning
to understand their secrets.
37024
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