vellavu
Scooby
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2015
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Something Really Fascinating Happens When You Give Plants Anaesthetic
When somebody mentions anaesthetics, we probably think straight away of pain relief, but there's a lot more going on in these complex chemical compounds than the simple negation of discomfort.
While there's a range of chemicals that can induce anaesthesia in humans, just how these unrelated compounds trigger a lack of consciousness remains somewhat unclear.
And the mystery deepens when you consider it isn't only animals that are affected by anaesthetics – plants are, too.
Humans in ancient societies were using things like herbs for various sedative purposes thousands of years ago, but the roots of modern anaesthesia began around the mid-19th century, when physicians began administering diethyl ether to patients during surgical procedures.
It was only a few decades later that scientists realised plants were similarly affected by ether, leading French physiologist Claude Bernard to conclude plants and animals shared a common biological essence that could be disrupted by anaesthetics.
When somebody mentions anaesthetics, we probably think straight away of pain relief, but there's a lot more going on in these complex chemical compounds than the simple negation of discomfort.
While there's a range of chemicals that can induce anaesthesia in humans, just how these unrelated compounds trigger a lack of consciousness remains somewhat unclear.
And the mystery deepens when you consider it isn't only animals that are affected by anaesthetics – plants are, too.
Humans in ancient societies were using things like herbs for various sedative purposes thousands of years ago, but the roots of modern anaesthesia began around the mid-19th century, when physicians began administering diethyl ether to patients during surgical procedures.
It was only a few decades later that scientists realised plants were similarly affected by ether, leading French physiologist Claude Bernard to conclude plants and animals shared a common biological essence that could be disrupted by anaesthetics.
