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Plants communicate using clicking sounds


Abramelin

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It's been known for a while that some plants are able to communicate with each other through chemical signaling — but new research published in Trends in Plant Science now suggests that plants not only respond to sounds as well, they can also talk to each other, by making "clicking" sounds.

Plants like cabbage can emit a volatile gas, namely methyl jasmonate, that warns their vegetative brethren that a herbivore is in the ‘hood — annoying things like caterpillars or garden shears.

This got Exeter University scientist Monica Gagliano thinking that maybe other plants could perform a similar trick, but with sounds.

And her intuition was right. She, along with fellow researchers Stefano Mancuso and Daniel Robert, used powerful acoustic instrumentation which allowed them to hear clicking sounds coming from the roots of corn saplings. They also found that when they suspended the young roots in water and played a continuous noise at 200 Hz – a similar frequency to the clicks – the plants grew towards the source of the sound.

http://io9.com/5919973/plants-communicate-with-each-other-by-using-clicking-sounds

http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/10247/20120611/plants-communication-survival.htm

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I would really like to see the part of the plant's anatomy that makes these clicking sounds. Fascinating.

Edited by e u n O i a
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i feel bad for the cabbages, they can warn each other but do nothing about the threat. i wonder what vegetarians think about this

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i feel bad for the cabbages, they can warn each other but do nothing about the threat. i wonder what vegetarians think about this

We are all going to die. Pepper your angus!

pepper-your-angus.jpg

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Here's the paper (pdf) :

Towards understanding plant bioacoustics

Monica Gagliano1,2, Stefano Mancuso3 and Daniel Robert4

1 Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia

2 Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia

3 LINV, Department of Plant, Soil and Environmental Science, University of Firenze, Sesto F.no (FI), Italy

4 School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

http://www.linv.org/images/papers_pdf/1-s2.0-s1360138512000544-main.pdf

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So their rootlets can make sounds... what do they use to hear those sounds?

They don't know yet.

From the pdf:

Whilst receptor

mechanisms in plants are still to be identified, there is

early, yet tantalising, evidence about plants’ ability of

detecting vibrations and exhibiting a frequency-selective

sensitivity that generate behavioural modifications

(Figure 1b and c). At both proximate and ultimate levels,

sound production in plants is only rarely documented

and still poorly understood. We are growing increasingly

doubtful of the idea that all acoustic emissions by plants

are the mere result of the abrupt release of tension in the

water-transport system [5]. We anticipate that plant

acoustic radiation is not simply an incidental mechanical

by-product attributable to cavitation alone; recent evidence

illustrates that the young roots of corn generate

structured, spike-like, acoustic emissions (Figure 1a). To

date, the production mechanisms and adaptive value of

such acoustic emissions remain elusive, yet in the past two

decades several studies have pointed to the phenomenological

importance of sound and vibrations in plant physiology

(reviewed in [6]).

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So maybe indeed plants told Shamans about cures.

BTW I thought this is already proven. :unsure2:

Edited by the L
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The Effects of Different Musical Elements on Root Growth and Mitosis in Onion (Allium cepa) Root Apical Meristem (Musical and Biological Experimental Study)

Nuran Ekici, Feruzan Dane, Leyla Mamedova, Isin Metin and Murad Huseyinov

ABSTRACT

In this study effects of strong, complex, rhythmic accent classical music with sekunda and kvarta intervals and frequently reprized and opus with rhythmic dynamically changing lyrics which contain more extensive kvinta septa oktava intervals on mitotic index and root growth were investigated in onion (Allium cepa) root tip cells during germination. For this aim, music samples from Wagner, Mozart, Musorgsky, (Boris Godunov) Chopin, Tchaikovski, Schubert were chosen. We found correlation between root elongation and Mitotic Index (MI). Both kinds of music have positive effects on root growth and mitotic divisions in onion root tip cells but rhythmic dynamically changing lyrics affected much better. In this study light microscopy techniques were used but ultrastructure of root tip cells will be studied with electron microscope in the following study.

http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ajps.2007.369.373

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Oh boy, and a lot more here:

ABILITY of Plants TO HEAR

Mordecai Jaffe (Wake Forest University) used an instrument that made a loud "warble" and got a doubling in the growth of dwarf pea plants. Jaffe suspects that the plant hormone gibberellic acid, which is instrumental in shoot elongation and seed germination, is involved in the "hearing" response. When Jaffe added chemicals to the pea plants inhibiting the biosynthesis of this hormone, he was unable to reproduce the original effects.

http://www.musicforyourplants.com/

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So maybe indeed plants told Shamans about cures.

BTW I thought this is already proven. :unsure2:

Proven that they "talk"?? I don't think so, only that they respond to sounds and music.

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i feel bad for the cabbages, they can warn each other but do nothing about the threat. i wonder what vegetarians think about this

It's all fair game.

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Would not this suggest consciousness? This doesn't make any sense.

Some would reason that way, yes:

http://io9.com/5901172/10-pieces-of-evidence-that-plants-are-smarter-than-you-think

1. Plants communicate with insects

2. Plants have memories

3. Plants create communication networks

4. Plants grow differently in response to sound

5. Plants measure time

6. Plants know up from dow

7. Plants know who is family and who isn't

8. Plants warn each other about approaching enemies

9. Plants use camouflage

10. Plants are escape artists

Others would say it is all chemically/physically based, and without 'intenion' or 'sentience'.

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How does a plant have a memory without a brain?

You should click the links....

2. Plants have memories

Certainly plants don't "remember" the way humans do, but a group of researchers discovered that plants learn to associate various wavelengths of light with different kinds of danger.

http://io9.com/5901172/10-pieces-of-evidence-that-plants-are-smarter-than-you-think

Plants can think and perform computations, say scientists

Plants can think and perform computations, say scientists Plants are able to assess their environment by analyzing light, and are able to "remember" light they have experienced recently. By analyzing chemical reactions in leaves, scientists have come to appreciate that plants possess a kind of intelligence.

BBC News has a terrific story on a group of researchers who believe they have found the plant equivalent of the nervous system, which functions by translating light into chemical reactions - and remembering those reactions over time. Plants need to analyze and remember different wavelengths of light in order to prepare for seasonal variations in pests and pathogens in the air.

According to BBC News:

What was even more peculiar, Professor [stanislaw] Karpinski said, was that the plants' responses changed depending on the colour of the light that was being shone on them. There were characteristic [changes] for red, blue and white light," he explained.

He suspected that the plants might use the information encoded in the light to stimulate protective chemical reactions. He and his colleagues examined this more closely by looking at the effect of different colours of light on the plants' immunity to disease.

"When we shone the light for on the plant for one hour and then infected it [with a virus or with bacteria] 24 hours after that light exposure, it resisted the infection," he explained.

"But when we infected the plant before shining the light, it could not build up resistance.

"[so the plant] has a specific memory for the light which builds its immunity against pathogens, and it can adjust to varying light conditions."

He said that plants used information encrypted in the light to immunise themselves against seasonal pathogens.

"Every day or week of the season has… a characteristic light quality," Professor Karpinski explained. "So the plants perform a sort of biological light computation, using information contained in the light to immunise themselves against diseases that are prevalent during that season."

Professor Christine Foyer, a plant scientist from the University of Leeds, said the study "took our thinking one step forward".

"Plants have to survive stresses, such as drought or cold, and live through it and keep growing," she told BBC News.

"This requires an appraisal of the situation and an appropriate response - that's a form of intelligence."

http://io9.com/5587311/plants-can-think-and-perform-computations-say-scientists

Btw, a computer doesn't have a brain either, and no nervous system, but it does have 'memory'.

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A general definition of intelligence is: "the capability to adapt to changing circumstances."

Memory is defined as the faculty by which sense impressions and information are retained and subsequently recalled, either in a neuronal circuit or in some other medium.

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hmmm ! communication sort of proves awareness of some sort? I've always thought plants are aware.. somehow, maybe all basic awareness is astonishingly similar to our own?

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I always wondered why trees will turn their leaves over before a storm.

http://www.farmersal...redict-a-storm/

but it seems like it is only a physical reaction to changes in humidity. Calling it a memory is a bit deceptive.

What is 'memory' according to you?

To give you a hint: your immune system has a memory too.

.

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Scientists Uncover The 'Invisible' Language of Plants

By Meera Dolasia on February 6, 2012

Many avid gardeners believe that 'talking' to their plants helps them thrive -Turns out they may not be cuckoo after all. If scientists from the University of Exeter are to believed, plants may be constantly communicating with each other, via a secret 'invisible' language.

For their experiment, the scientists picked a cabbage plant that is known to emit a gas when its surface is cut or pierced. In order to get video evidence of the communication, they modified the cabbage gene by adding the protein - luciferase, which is what makes fireflies glow in the dark.

When the modified cabbage plant was in full bloom, they cut a leaf off with a scissor - Almost immediately, thanks to the luciferase they could see the plant emitting 'methyl jasmonate'.

While this was a known fact, what was surprising was the fact that the minute this gas began to float out, the nearby cabbage plants seemed to sense some kind of danger and started to emit a gas that they normally reserve to keep predators like caterpillars away.

What the scientists are not sure is whether the plants are trying to warn the other leaves about the danger or the neighboring plants - Something that will require further research. However, the team that was led professor Nick Smirnoff, is quite excited by the findings because this is the first time it has been visually proved that plants do not live a passive life, but actually move, sense and even communicate with each other.

However, before you get all concerned, they are 100% sure that plants do not feel the pain when they are cut, since they do not have nerves - So go ahead and bite on that juicy carrot!

http://www.dogonews.com/2012/2/6/scientists-uncover-the-invisible-language-of-plants/page/2

And I'd like to add: I was one of those who attached leaves of plants to a GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) apparatus, back in the 80s of the past century. This thing - aka 'lie detector - gave me some stunning results.

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