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Torturing plants for science November 25 2001 at 11:33 PM		Webel Fetzer

Scientist can make plants scream A German physics researcher is making plants scream. University of Bonn scientist Ralph Gaebler uses a special sensor to register plant gas emissions. When under stress, plants give off increased amounts of ethylene gas. The sensor translates the gas concentration into noise. The German newspaper Express reports Mr Gaebler demonstrated the method by cutting a leaf off an orchid, which caused a piercing scream. He said: "The orchid cannot run away, so this is her way of complaining about such mean treatment." He caused the same effects by infecting a cucumber with mildew. Mr Gaebler says his machine frequently registers 'screams' coming from fruit baskets. "Apples naturally give off lots of ethylene gas. If there are any bananas in the basket, they will quickly turn brown from it," he added. Story filed: 09:53 Friday 23rd November 2001

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Mike F.

Imagine that!

November 25 2001, 11:39 PM

Apples just laying there in the bowl, screaming - always screaming...

It gives me chills...

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Dierdreanna

Re: Imagine that!

November 26 2001, 3:18 PM

So, he arbitrarily set a machine to change a gas sensor to sound.. Can you make the conclusion that in interspecies communication on such a crude level it means the same thing-that one species reaction in gas is equal to another and that the "scream" corresponds to ours..? Maybe it tickles... Plants grow better and produce better when pruned and trimed. and then assuming that when he said apples always give off ethylene did that mean even on the tree and wouldn't that make them the complainers of the plant world or maybe the gigglers.. Any indication he tried out music types on the plants??

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Webel Fetzer

Actually... (Scatological observations)

November 26 2001, 6:48 PM

Actually you are right, as reported in the above article, the experiment was poorly done and the observations were not scientific.

Maybe apples want to be eaten and the ethylene is used to attract things that will eat them. This would result in the apple seeds being deposited in a pile of fertilizer on the ground.

Folks who live in bear country can tell you that a bear can smell ripening apples from miles away. Bears also tend to eat too many apples when they encounter an apple tree. This results in lots of big piles of fertilizer and seeds being deposited within hours. The seeds don't have time to be digested. (But the bears never learn, they're back the next day eating more bushels of apples. Maybe the ethylene is addictive.)

BTW- If you hike in bear country you should attach several little silver bells (the jingle bell type) to your backpack. Bears are dangerous when surprised by a hiker. The bells let them know you are coming and they move out of the way.

MORE about bears:

You can tell what kind of bear is in the woods with you by examining their scat (fertilizer) on the trail.

A black or brown bear will leave a pile of scat about the size of a saucer. It will have seeds or animal bones and hair in it.

Grizzly bears leave a pile of scat about the size of a dinner plate with the same seeds, bones and hair. Often these grizzly bear scat piles will also include little silver bells.

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