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Low Levels of Toxic Gas Found To Encourage Plant Growth

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-doesn't-kill-you-makes-you-stronger dept.

olsmeister writes "Hydrogen Sulfide is a toxic, flammable, foul-smelling gas that some theorize may have been at least partially responsible for some of Earth's mass extinctions, including the Permian-Triassic event, which killed well over half of the species on the planet. Now, thanks to a fortuitous accident, doctoral student at the University of Washington seems to have discovered that very low doses of the gas seems to greatly enhance plant growth, causing plants to germinate more quickly and grow larger. The finding could have far reaching implications for both food and biofuel production."

2 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. An opportunity plants don't want to lose by KiloByte · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is not a case of Paracelsian "the dose makes the poison", these amounts are already harmful. Yet for the seeds, it's a hint that something bad happened to already grown plants in the area, and that if they germinate right now, they will have an opening they can grow unopposed into. This is a gamble, yeah -- the harmful agent might be still there in several days when it can possibly hurt the sapling, but considering how small a fraction of seeds get to produce a viable plant normally instead of being blocked by others, it's like Emperor's Day came early.

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  2. doctoral student by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    doctoral student at the University of Washington seems to have discovered

    "doctoral student"? The poor guy doesn't even have a name?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.