Plants 'scream' every time they are cut or dehydrated, scientists claim in bizarre study
A groundbreaking study from Tel Aviv University has claimed that plants scream every time they are cut or dehydrated, with the noise said to be inaudible
In a revelation that seems to have leapt from the pages of Harry Potter, scientists have discovered that plants emit an audible scream when they are cut or deprived of water. The groundbreaking research, spearheaded by Tel Aviv University in Israel, has found that this extraordinary sound is akin to the crackling of bubble wrap and can reach volumes similar to a casual chat between humans.
"Even in a quiet field, there are actually sounds that we don't hear, and those sounds carry information," explained the study's lead author Lilach Hadany, an evolutionary biologist. She added, "There are animals that can hear these sounds, so there is the possibility that a lot of acoustic interaction is occurring."
The team investigated how tomato and tobacco plants react to stress by placing them in both a silent acoustic chamber and a noisy greenhouse environment. They then subjected the plants to drought conditions and stem cuts, recording the ensuing reactions with sophisticated equipment.
Despite being beyond the range of human hearing due to their high frequency, the recordings revealed that stressed plants emit 30 to 50 such sounds per hour. These emissions were sporadic, but researchers managed to develop a model capable of detecting distressed plants with relative ease using the collected data.
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And it's not just tobacco and tomatoes that are getting vocal scientists have discovered that cactus, wheat, and grape plants are part of the screaming flora too. "When tomatoes are not stressed at all, they are very quiet," explained Professor Hadany, according to the Mirror.
"Plants interact with insects and other animals all the time, and many of these organisms use sound for communication, so it would be very suboptimal for plants to not use sound at all."
The revolutionary findings from a Cell Press paper published last year have sparked a frenzy of incredulous reactions across the internet, with many struggling to grasp the concept that our leafy companions could be emitting sounds constantly. A TikTok video discussing the study (@getonthefind) prompted one user to quip: "And this is exactly why aliens haven't come to Earth."
Another user humorously remarked: "Vegans your dinner is crying," while someone else added to the mix: "Imagine 2054 News... Bitcoin Lawsuit was filed by Arizona Plants Community."
But the surprises don't stop there; researchers suggest that this discovery might pave the way for humans to spy on or even chat with our chlorophyll-filled friends in the future. Professor Hadany posed an intriguing question: "So now that we know that plants do emit sounds, the next question is - who might be listening? ".
"We are currently investigating the responses of other organisms, both animals and plants, to these sounds, and we're also exploring our ability to identify and interpret the sounds in completely natural environments."
