The silly season ain't over yet, folks. From today's news:
29 Aug 2007
Source: PA News
Playing Beethoven to growing rice has convinced scientists that plants can "hear", new research has revealed.
The research suggests that crops such as rice, wheat or barley might have real ears.
Plants are known to respond to light, the "touch" of the wind, and the "taste" of nutrients in the soil. There are also many anecdotal stories of plants reacting to sound. Some gardeners believe fading blooms can be revitalised by music, and the Prince of Wales is famous for his belief that plants grow better if you talk to them.
Now scientists say they have identified two genes in rice that respond to certain sounds.
The team, led by Mi-Jeong Jeong, from the National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology in Suwon, South Korea, began by playing rice plants 14 different classical pieces including Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
At the same time, the researchers monitored the plants for changes in the activity of different genes. They found that the plants did not appreciate music as such, but were sensitive to sounds at specific frequencies.
Two particular genes, rbcS and Ald, became more active when exposed to sounds at 125 and 250 hertz, and less active at 50 hertz. A human being with ideal hearing is sensitive to a frequency range of 20 to 20,000 hertz.
The rice genes reacted to sounds below the pitch of normal human speech, falling within the range of bass instruments and lower piano or guitar notes.
When the tests were conducted in darkness, the genes still responded to sound, New Scientist magazine reported.
The researchers wrote in the journal Molecular Breeding that regulatory DNA associated with one of the genes could be attached to other plant genes, making them sound sensitive. This raised the possibility of farmers switching specific crop genes on or off simply by blasting their fields with sound.
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
29 Aug 2007
Source: PA News
Playing Beethoven to growing rice has convinced scientists that plants can "hear", new research has revealed.
The research suggests that crops such as rice, wheat or barley might have real ears.
Plants are known to respond to light, the "touch" of the wind, and the "taste" of nutrients in the soil. There are also many anecdotal stories of plants reacting to sound. Some gardeners believe fading blooms can be revitalised by music, and the Prince of Wales is famous for his belief that plants grow better if you talk to them.
Now scientists say they have identified two genes in rice that respond to certain sounds.
The team, led by Mi-Jeong Jeong, from the National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology in Suwon, South Korea, began by playing rice plants 14 different classical pieces including Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
At the same time, the researchers monitored the plants for changes in the activity of different genes. They found that the plants did not appreciate music as such, but were sensitive to sounds at specific frequencies.
Two particular genes, rbcS and Ald, became more active when exposed to sounds at 125 and 250 hertz, and less active at 50 hertz. A human being with ideal hearing is sensitive to a frequency range of 20 to 20,000 hertz.
The rice genes reacted to sounds below the pitch of normal human speech, falling within the range of bass instruments and lower piano or guitar notes.
When the tests were conducted in darkness, the genes still responded to sound, New Scientist magazine reported.
The researchers wrote in the journal Molecular Breeding that regulatory DNA associated with one of the genes could be attached to other plant genes, making them sound sensitive. This raised the possibility of farmers switching specific crop genes on or off simply by blasting their fields with sound.
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
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