Does it smell a bit like Bay Rum? lol
Posted on 08/28/2010 1:31:37 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
The lovely scent of cut grass is the reek of plant anguish: When attacked, plants release airborne chemical compounds. Now scientists say plants can use these compounds almost like language, notifying nearby creatures who can "rescue" them from insect attacks.
A group of German scientists studying a wild tobacco plant noticed that the compounds it released - called green leaf volatiles or GLVs - were very specific. When the plants were infested by caterpillars, the plants released a distress GLV that attracted predatory bugs who like to eat the caterpillars in question.
According to Science, where the researchers published their study today:
They found that when these plants are attacked by tobacco hornworm caterpillars, Manduca sexta, the caterpillars' saliva causes a chemical change in the GLV compounds the plants had produced. These modified compounds then attract predatory "true bugs," Geocoris, which prey on hornworm eggs and young larvae. Although more research will be needed to figure out exactly how the molecules in the caterpillar saliva cause this change in the GLVs, it's clear that the caterpillars themselves cause the change in the GLV signal, the researchers say. It may thus be possible someday to induce the same sort of change via genetic engineering, which might protect plants against pests without encouraging the resistance that pests develop in response to pesticides.
(Excerpt) Read more at io9.com ...
Coming to a bumper sticker near you.
Did anyone here ever read that book called “The Day of the Triffids”? It was a goodie horror story!
This is the end game for the lunatic screwball left.
Can’t eat animals, cause they are, well, animals just like us.
Can’t eat plants cause they too feel pain and have families.
So, humans will just have to go extinct to save the planet.
(except for them of course, cause they’re special)
Wow liberals are out to destroy even the simple pleasures in life. Can’t enjoy the smell of fresh cut grass it’s plants screaming....Ughh and people wonder why I dislike the left..
Does the EPA know about this? Now that they high-tailed it out of the lead in bullets nonsense, they must have quite a few bureaucrats sitting around looking to create their next nightmare.
Does it smell a bit like Bay Rum? lol
It couldn’t possibly be that cut grass just smells like cut grass and insects have evolved to recognize that the smell of cut grass may indicate a food source.
Bacon has also developed a signal when cooked that causes people to swarm around and eat it.
Enviro-wackos will translate this to infer that plants have feelings; therefore will lobby lawmakers to stop us from cutting grass.... /s =.=
I had to hire a therapist to treat my lawn after it saw my John Deere.
Other grass ... who will "feel bad" for the grass that was cut. They could probably measure the "sorry feelings" of the other grass if they got another grant. This is how a lib sees his world.
You back away slowly and step on a rake that flies up and shacks you in the head giving you a brain concusion.
bm
the smell attracts animals to eat the cut parts and poop to provide fertilizer to grow more grass.
This is a really funny article. I love the smell of freshly cut grass so I guess grass will just continue to be anguished. :)
Just when I was getting over the tragedy of bug carnage on the windshield now I have the guilt of grass pain on my conscience. Oh the humanity.
You’ve got to be freaking kidding me. Cut grass smells like cut grass because its cut grass. And I’m no rocket scientist.
Sob. I’ll never cut my grass again ...
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