Its that time of year when cherry blossoms draw crowds across the world, but a few cherry trees this year have sprouted a mystery. Four cherry tree saplings across Japan blossomed this spring, about six years ahead of schedule. The trees all come from a selection of seeds that took a trip to the International Space Station in 2008 as part of an experiment. Kaori Tomita-Yokotani, a University of Tsukuba researcher involved in the experiment, tells the AFP that there is the possibility that exposure to stronger cosmic rays accelerated the process of sprouting and overall growth. She adds that cross-pollination could also account for it, but scientists are struggling to find an answer because data on the seeds is currently very limited.
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