PRESS
The Venus Flytrap
The rapid closure of the carnivorous plant Venus
flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is one of the
fastest motions (typically 100 ms) in the plant kingdom
and led Darwin to describe the plant as "one of the
most wonderful in the world". The closure is initiated
by the mechanical stimulation of trigger hairs. Previous
studies have focused on the biochemical response of
the trigger hairs to stimuli and quantified the propagation
of an action potential in the leaves. We complement
these studies by considering the post-stimulation mechanical
aspects of Venus flytrap closure. Using high-speed
video imaging, non-invasive microscopy techniques and
a simple theoretical model we show that the fast closure
of the trap results from a snap-buckling instability.
Our study illuminates an ingenious solution to scaling
up movements in non-muscular engines and provides a
general framework for understanding nastic motion in
plants.
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Superposition
of the open and closed leaves of the Venus flytrap.
The glass needle in the foreground was used to
trigger the closure. Note that the leaves flip
by almost turning inside out - similar to the
flipping of a contact lens, plastic lid or the
reversal of a torn tennis ball. |
Illustrated
versions of the leaves, showing the change in
shape associated with closure of the leaf. Cutting
a leaf parallel to the midrib and perpendicular
to it shows that the snapping is in fact driven
by just curvatures changes in the direction perpendicular
to the midrib. |
The dots were
used to track the motion of the leaf as a function
of time. Especially note how the curvature of
the leaf changes so quickly. The glass rod on
the right plays the role of the "fly". |
Click here to
see the high-resolution version. Courtesy of
Forterre and Mahadevan. |
Created by
and courtesy of Farrah Shindler. |
Click here to
see a Quicktime movie of the
Venus
flytrap in action.
Courtesy
of Mahadevan et. al. |
Media
- "Secrets
of the Venus Flytrap Revealed", Morning
Edition, 27 January 2005
- Captured:
how the flytrap snaps, The Guardian,
27 January 2005
- "Researchers
explore mystery, and say gotcha", Boston
Globe, 27 January 2005
- "How
a Venus flytrap snaps up its victims", New
Scientist, 29 January 2005
- "Sharing
secrets of the Venus flytrap", Harvard Gazette,
26 January 2005
- Venus
flytrap plants use a built-in snap, MSNBC, 26 January 2005
- Venus
Flytrap's Speed Secret Revealed, Live Science,
26 January 2005
- Secret
of the Venus Fly Trap Revealed, 27 January
2005
- Scientists
discover secret of venus flytrap's snap,
ABC News Online, 27 January 2005
- Harvard
scientists discover how the venus flytrap snaps, Eureka Alert, 26 January 2005
- How
a Venus flytrap plant catches bugs, Scripps Howard
News Service, 26 January 2005
- In
a Snap: Leaf geometry drives Venus flytrap's bite, Science News, 29 January 2005
- Secrets
of the Venus Flytrap Revealed, NPR, 27
January
2005
- Why, Boston.com,
2 February 2005
- "What
it takes to get in a flap", The Guardian, 3
February 2005
- Let's
Keep Asking Why, The
Boston Globe, 3
February 2005
- Venus
Flytrap - Leader in Biometrics? Newswatch
50
- Plants
teach big lessons about how to get going, 16 June 2005
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