Scientists unlock the secret behind the Venus flytrap's snap
KSL.com • • science
Key Points:
- Researchers have discovered that the Venus flytrap's rapid snapping shut is caused by a swift softening of the cell walls in the outer layer of its trap, rather than by water redistribution as previously thought.
- The trap is mechanically pre-loaded like a spring, and when triggered by an insect touching specialized hairs twice, the softened cell walls release internal stress, causing the trap to close in as little as one-tenth of a second.
- This mechanism involves the plant actively tuning the stiffness of its cell walls within about one second, a rapid change in mechanical properties not previously observed in plants.
- The findings, published in Science, resolve a long-standing question dating back to Charles Darwin about how the Venus flytrap achieves one of the fastest movements in the plant kingdom.
- Researchers suggest that this biological principle could inspire future developments in soft robotics and smart materials by mimicking the plant's ability to rapidly alter material stiffness.