The plants revealed a “consciousness»
Scientists have proved that anesthetics, including those used in surgical intervention, may serve as anesthesia for plants, which leads researchers to believe that plants can be conscious.
Biologists decided to put the experiment with application of anesthetics on several plants. They pumped the air in incubators with pea tendrils, soaked with lidocaine seedlings, watercress and put into a dream Venus flytrap. An hour after the anesthetic effect, all the plants have stopped responding to stimuli. When the effect of the drug ceased, the plants “awake”.
The results of a study published in Annals of Botany, can help physicians better understand the variety of anesthetics used during surgery. However, according to the researchers, the experiment proves that plants are complex organisms, and perhaps less different from animals than expected.
“Plants are not just robotic device reaction. They are living organisms who have their own problems. Maybe they are as people feel pain or joy,” said biologist of the University of Bonn františek Baluska, writes the New York Times.