Giant trees have no trouble pumping water to top branches: new research • Hacker News Board

Re: Giant trees have no trouble pumping water to top branches: new research

#131

Post by raducu » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 7:08 AM UTC

fc417fc802 wrote: post #45

nomel wrote: post #14

This goes against all previous research/measurements for actually tall trees (looks like they only considered up to 80m) and the fact that there are exactly zeros trees in the world taller than 130 meters [1]. Wide capillaries at the base, like stated in the article, don't seem to be related. [1] https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/REDWOODS-How-tall-can...

I agree it doesn't pass the sniff test (where are the 500 meter trees in the rainforests?) but I think it would make an excellent goal for molecularbiological and genetic engineering. We (our civilization) need to become much more skilled at that before we start editing the human germline, and we will inevitably want to edit the human germline eventually (or rather we are currently exhibiting great restraint in not d…

> where are the 500 meter trees in the rainforests.

There could be structural reason as to why it's not possible, not pumping water *

Re: Giant trees have no trouble pumping water to top branches: new research

#132

Post by karim79 » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 11:18 PM UTC

tomhow wrote: post #128

karim79 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Please don't comment like this. We ask users not to post generated comments, but we also don't want snarky accusations like this. If a comment seems suspect, you can flag it or email us (hn@ycombinator.com).

Understood. I now know what to do. Many thanks sir.

Re: Giant trees have no trouble pumping water to top branches: new research

#133

Post by theendisney » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 3:50 AM UTC

fc417fc802 wrote: post #126

pkghost wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And then there's homeopathy which is a largely unrelated and entirely nonsensical thing. And be careful with that dismissal! Not that I'm helping my case, here, but Pollack doesn't think it's baloney (see related chapter in his book "The Fourth Phase of Water").

While there is plenty of evidence of strange molecular phenomena occurring at interfaces in solution, there is to the best of my knowledge absolutely no evidence to support the claims made by homeopathy. Moreover the latter appear patently unreasonable at a glance (and only become increasingly so when examined with a critical eye) while the former fall well within the bounds of established chemistry and physics.

I didnt believe any of it but when conventional methods failed the homeopathy worked incredibly well. So, i dont get to mock it. The same guy also gave me other alternative medication. I had to pull it out of him as he innitally refused for legal reasons.

So, i make of it that alternative medicine and homeopathy doesnt work because you may not talk about it(!?)

Or as Brian Josephson put it, The idea that water can have a memory can be readily disproved by any one of a number of easily understood, invalid arguments

Re: Giant trees have no trouble pumping water to top branches: new research

#134

Post by theendisney » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 8:35 PM UTC

hinkley wrote: post #129

taneq wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s like the pop sci fact that if you took all your blood vessels and laid them end to end… you would die.

This is still one of my all time favorites, although alveoli work the same way and are more fun to say. The other day my friend said they wanted a new nervous system and my brain went down this route of pulling out the old one and putting in the new one.

I once coin the philosophical construct: the wireless p**s. The idea is to send the body to work while you stay at home and have fun.

Is the new nervous system really you?