Posted on 02/20/2010 2:46:11 PM PST by JoeProBono
Scientists have discovered the female sex hormone progesterone in a walnut tree, shaking up what's known about the different between plants and animals.
Until now, scientists thought that only animals could make progesterone.
A steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries, progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy.
A synthetic version, progestin, is used in birth control pills and other medications.
"The significance of the unequivocal identification of progesterone cannot be overstated," write Guido F. Pauli and colleagues in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products.
"While the biological role of progesterone has been extensively studied in mammals, the reason for its presence in plants is less apparent."
They speculate that the hormone, like other steroid hormones, might be an ancient bioregulator that evolved billions of years ago, before the appearance of modern plants and animals. The new discovery may change scientific understanding of the evolution and function of progesterone in living things.....
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Is there any in walnuts, or just circulating in the walnut tree? Where were the first wild walnut trees located???
Neat!!
;0)
Thanks for all the pings.
Tree of Life PING, lol
ACT LIKE A LADY! And I’LL TREAT YA LIKE ONE!
A female tree with nuts ?
That’s just wroooooooooong !.......:o)
I bet that one whines a lot.......
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Thanks fanfan and hennie pennie. Strange that the tree still has nuts. |
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Have to wonder if Laz would hit that.
I’m not sure if that is an ordinary wood nymph, a dryad, a hamadryad, or a mommadryad.
In any case, I’m sure there’s estrogen in them thar leaves.
But, the nuts are really ovaries.
That's as messed up as San Francisco 2-speed manual tranny!
Man you just freak me out with the graphics you post.
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