RedNova News - Lethal Secret of Venus' Flytrap is Revealed ; Scientists Learn How Leaves Snap Closed: "From evolutionist Charles Darwin onward, scientists have pondered how the Venus' flytrap can snap its leaves closed around an insect in less than one-tenth of a second even though it has neither muscles nor nervous system.

Now, using a high-speed camera, a French and American team has shown that the rapid movement is caused by structural tension similar to that which causes a contact lens to suddenly flip from concave to convex when it is handled."

The research was undertaken out of curiosity and has no practical applications, Mahadevan said. "I thought it would be fun," he said. "Besides, as a vegetarian, it's nice to think about plants that eat animals rather than the other way around."

Love the last line!

-K

posted by Kaushik at 11:38 AM Comment (0)