NYT SCIENCE: This Is What It Sounds Like When Plants Cry
By Darren Incorvaia
Section: Science
Source: New York Times
Published Date: March 30, 2023 at 03:00AM
Stressed plants make audible sounds that can be heard many feet away, and the type of sound corresponds with the kind of bad day they are having. The results were published Thursday in the journal Cell.
To be clear, the sounds made by harried plants are not the same as the anxious mumbling you might utter if you have a big deadline at work. The researchers suspect the nervous, popping noise is instead a byproduct of cavitation, when tiny bubbles burst and produce mini-shock waves inside the plant’s vascular system, not unlike what happens in your joints when you crack your knuckles.
By Darren Incorvaia
Section: Science
Source: New York Times
Published Date: March 30, 2023 at 03:00AM
Scientists recorded the popping noises that plants make in response to stresses like dehydration or a cut.
Humans have glorious ways of vocalizing discontent: We grumble, grouse, gripe, groan, moan. One might think airing complaints requires, at the very least, a mouth. But recent research from the plant kingdom shows that a mouth isn’t essential.Stressed plants make audible sounds that can be heard many feet away, and the type of sound corresponds with the kind of bad day they are having. The results were published Thursday in the journal Cell.
To be clear, the sounds made by harried plants are not the same as the anxious mumbling you might utter if you have a big deadline at work. The researchers suspect the nervous, popping noise is instead a byproduct of cavitation, when tiny bubbles burst and produce mini-shock waves inside the plant’s vascular system, not unlike what happens in your joints when you crack your knuckles.
Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/science/plant-sounds-stress.html
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