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YOUR DAILY DOSE OF SCIENCE 11

diagnosis and treatment in
utero,” Kim said.

Philpot and his lab now
plan to explore the effec-
tiveness of their strategy
when applied to Pitt-Hop-
kins mice at later stages
of life. They also plan to
develop an experimental
gene therapy in which the SMARTWATCH
human TCF4 gene itself
will be delivered by a virus FOR PLANTS
into a Pitt-Hopkins mouse
model – a therapy that ul-
timately could be tested in
children with Pitt-Hopkins
syndrome. New ‘smartwatch for plants’

“We’ll be working on a gene monitors water content in
therapy, but our results leaves and pings the owner
here suggest that there
are other TCF4-restoring
approaches that could Sometimes it can be plant pots’. Previously, allowed more of the tape
after the mice were born. work, including treatments difficult to track whether researchers had devel- to connect with the leaf
Analyses of the brains that boost the activity of a plant has had too much oped metal electrodes to surface.
showed this restoration the remaining, good TCF4 or too little water. Visual monitor water content in
of activity over the next copy,” Philpot said. signs, such as shrivel- leaves, but the electrodes Next, the experts created
several weeks. ling or browning leaves, had problems staying at- a plant-wearable device
The research was support- don’t start until most of tached, which reduced the with the metal electrodes
Even though the treat- ed by the Ann D. Bornstein the plant’s water is gone, accuracy of the data. and attached it to a living
ed mice had moderately Grant from the Pitt-Hop- while yellowing takes plant in a greenhouse. The
smaller brains and bodies kins Research Foundation, place after it has been Researchers from the device wirelessly shared
compared to normal mice, the National Institute of drenched. To address this Brazilian Nanotechnology data to a smartphone
they did not develop many Neurological Disorders and tricky dilemma, scien- National Laboratory, led app and website, which
of the abnormal behav- Stroke (R01NS114086), the tists have created a new by Renato Lima, wanted revealed the percentage
iors seen in untreated Estonian Research Council, ‘smartwatch for plants’, to identify an electrode of water content lost.
Pitt-Hopkins model mice. and the Orphan Disease which monitors the water design that was reliable
The exception was innate Center at the Perelman content in leaves and for long-term monitoring The researchers say that
nest-building behavior, in School of Medicine at the pings the owner when the of plants’ water stress, monitoring water content
which the treated mice University of Pennsylva- plant is in need of a drink. while also staying put. on leaves can even indi-
seemed abnormal at first, nia (MDBR-21-105-Pitt They created two types rectly provide information
although their abilities were Hopkins). In a similar way to how of electrodes: one made on exposure to pests and
restored to normal within a smartwatches track the of nickel deposited in a toxic agents. Because the
few weeks. Reference: “Rescue of electrical activity of a narrow, squiggly pattern, plant-wearable device
behavioral and electro- wearer’s heart through and the other cut from provides reliable data
The treatment at least physiological phenotypes electrodes that sit against partially burnt paper that indoors, they now plan
partly reversed two other in a Pitt-Hopkins syndrome the skin, the wearable was coated with a waxy to test the devices in
abnormalities seen in un- mouse model by genetic plant sensor can be film. outdoor gardens and on
treated mice: altered levels restoration of Tcf4 expres- attached to leaves. It then crops to determine when
of the genes regulated by sion” by Hyojin Kim, Eric B wirelessly transmits data When the team affixed plants need to be wa-
TCF4 and altered pat- Gao, Adam Draper, Noah to a smartphone app, al- both electrodes to de- tered, potentially saving
terns of neuronal activity C Berens, Hanna Vihma, lowing the owner to keep tached soybean leaves resources and increasing
as measured in electro- Xinyuan Zhang, Alexandra tabs on hydration levels. with clear adhesive tape, yields.
encephalograph (EEG) Higashi-Howard, Kimberly the nickel-based elec-
recordings. D Ritola, Jeremy M Simon, The new ‘wearable sensor’ trodes performed better, Reference: Biocompatible
Andrew J Kennedy and for plant leaves is the lat- producing larger signals Wearable Electrodes on
“These findings offer hope Benjamin D Philpot, 10 est in a string of gadgets as the leaves dried out. Leaves toward the On-
that a future gene thera- May 2022, eLife. that claim to help gar- The metal ones also Site Monitoring of Water
py will provide significant deners monitor the health adhered more strongly Loss from Plants
benefits to individuals with DOI: 10.7554/eLife.72290 their plants, which also in the wind, which the re-
Pitt-Hopkins syndrome include smartphone-con- searchers said was likely https://pubs.acs.
even when delivered nected soil sensors and because the thin squiggly org/doi/10.1021/
postnatally; it won’t require ‘smart’ self-watering design of the metallic film acsami.2c02943