There may be plants on distant planets that have developed black foliage and flowers to survive, according to new research, reports the BBC.

Forms of vegetation that are black or grey, enabling plants to absorb more light to photosynthesise, could have evolved on planets orbiting dim “red dwarf” stars, according to the research which looked at many star systems.  The research is the combined work of scientists from St. Andrews, the University of Dundee and the Open University.

These dark colours would absorb light across the entire wavelength so that they would be able to use as much light as possible for an energy source, as well as blocking harmful UV light.

The star system was modelled with two or three stars with various combinations of Sun-like and dim stars. The researcher then added planets to these models, orbiting around one or more of the stars.

The model suggests that photosynthesis on these planets, albeit that plants would have to adapt to very different light conditions, would resemble that of our own planet, with plants using energy from the Sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen.

If the light source is from a dim star, then it is thought that plants would be black and grey, but there could be some other exotic outcomes which are unknown.  For example, plant life receiving light from dim stars and other suns could lead to difference colours on the spectrum.

Research at Keele University has recently demonstrated what we all probably practice (and would secretly argue we knew): that swearing can actually help to relieve pain on a psychological level. But before you start running your mouth, the results also show that those who curse more often in general everyday life do not benefit as much from the full pain-relieving effects.

In an interesting experiment, subjects were asked to place their hands in ice-cold water for as long as they could. As the pain got more and more unbearable, the findings showed that using curse words, as opposed to neutral ones, allowed the subjects to hold their hands in for longer.

Those who normally didn’t swear managed to reach 140 seconds while swearing during the experiment, which was twice as long as when they used a neutral word; however, the subjects that regularly used foul language (up to 60 times a day) could only muster 120 seconds and there was no difference when they repeated the test using neutral words.

The article in The Telegraph discusses the findings with the researchers involved, and it would appear that swearing is a way for humans to express strong emotions. As such, it can be a useful way to relieve short-term pain as it helps to induce an equally strong emotional response reminiscent of the “mind over matter” phenomenon.

If you swear regularly, it seems that the emotional response is somewhat desensitised as your brain is more emotionally engaged with this kind of language.

Don’t believe it? Check the results for yourself here, as published in The Journal of Pain.