時差N小時: 嘿!你傷到我的樹葉了!

Don：Yael,the last time I was mown the lawn,Icouldn't help thinking, it's lucky these grass plantdon't feel pain.

唐：雅艾爾，上次我修理草坪的時候忍不住想，那些樹木花草感覺不到疼痛是很幸運的。

Yael: Ture,Don. But did you know that scientistshave discovered that plants use a form of electricalsignaling that spreads throughout the plant whenone of its leaves is injured.

雅艾爾：的確，唐。但你知道嗎，科學家們發(fā)現(xiàn)有一種植物，一旦其樹葉受傷，會立馬向全身傳導一種電子信號。

Don：Like the electric signals that spread through our nerves when we are injured?

唐：就像人類受傷后通過神經(jīng)傳導的電信號嗎?

Yael: The electric signals in plants, called “system potentials”, are not exactly like the electric“action potentials” in the nervous systems of animals. But they do have certain similarities.Both kinds of electric signals travel very quickly from the site of the wound to distant parts ofthe organism.

雅艾爾：植物體內(nèi)的電信號被稱為“系統(tǒng)電位”，它與動物神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)里的“動作電位”并不完全一樣。不過它們的確有某些相似之處。這兩種電信號都能很快地從受傷的部位傳到生物遠處的部位。

Don：Cool.

唐：酷。

Yael: The way these electric signals were discovered is pretty cool,too. A team of Germanscientists carefully inserted super thin, hair like electrodes through open stomata on the leaves.Stomata are tiny pores, found on the undersides of leaves, that open and close to controlevaporation and gas exchange for the plant. The tiny electrodes could then record activityfrom cells inside the leaf. Using these sensitive electrodes, the scientists were able to recordchanges in voltage as the electric signals spread from leaf to leaf across the entire plant. Thesystem potentials in plants move much more slowly than the electric signals that run throughour neurons, spreading at rates between two to four inches per minute.

雅艾爾：發(fā)現(xiàn)這種電子信號的方式也相當酷。一個德國的科學家團隊通過葉子張開的氣孔，仔細地植入了超薄、類似頭發(fā)的電極。氣孔是位于葉子下側的微小毛孔，這些氣孔的開放和關閉控制著植物水分的蒸騰和氣體交換。這些小電極能記錄葉片內(nèi)細胞的活動。利用這些敏感電極，科學家能夠記錄電信號從一片葉子傳到另一片葉子時電壓的改變。植物體內(nèi)的系統(tǒng)電位比在人體神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)內(nèi)流動的電信號要慢得多。人體內(nèi)電信號傳導速度為每分鐘二至四英寸。

Don：So,can my grass feel pain?

唐：那么，草能感覺到疼痛嗎?

Yael: No. Plants don't have brains or feelings the way animals do. But it is important for plantsto detect damage from herbivores, insects or even lawnmowers. Electrical signaling is one wayplants know there is damage and it's time to activate defense mechanisms or begin re growthin damaged areas.

雅艾爾：不能，植物并沒有大腦，不能像動物一樣有感覺。但是對植物來說，探測來自食草動物、昆蟲甚至剪草機的傷害非常重要。電子信號是植物用來感知受傷部位，并抓緊時間激活防御機制，或修復受傷部位的方法。