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Artificial Neuron
Snaps a Venus
Flytrap Shut
Researchers say that such
biointegrated systems could be
the future of prosthetics
When a Venus flytrap snaps its
fleshy lobes around an unsuspect-
ing insect, it’s game over for the
prey. The plant’s unusual habit of
snacking on animals has captured
the imagination of people ranging
from Charles Darwin to playwright
Howard Ashman and composer
Alan Menken (the latter two created
the 1982 musical Little Shop of
Horrors, which stars a human-eating
plant). Now, in an experiment that
might seem straight out of a pulp
science-fiction novel, scientists have
harnessed the flytrap’s power for
themselves: they have developed
a method to trigger its trap using
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Venus flytrap
