Plant Sentinel that Detect Explosive and Pollutant [PICS & VIDS]

Yet another great invention by U.S Scientists that is Plants which can detect pollutant and explosives. It could eventually be used for a wide range of applications such as security in airports or shopping malls, or monitoring for pollutants such as radon in a home.



U.S. scientists are developing plants that have an ability to detect bombs. How? they "taught" the plant's proteins to change color when there is certain chemical element. The application of research's result is not difficult, for example: the plants can be used by got it wrapped around the security gates. When terrorists approached with explosives, all plants change their color to white.

Daily Mail report, the plant is working because the protein receptor in the DNA of plants naturally respond to stimulus threat by releasing chemicals called terpenoids to thicken the epidermis of leaves, as the result leaves change color. The research was undertaken by biologist professor, June Medford from the University of Colorado along with the headquarters of U.S Department of Defence, the Pentagon.

“The idea to make detector plants comes directly from nature,” Medford said. “Plants can’t run or hide from threats, so they’ve developed sophisticated systems to detect and respond to their environment. We’ve ‘taught’ plants how to detect things we’re interested in and respond in a way anyone can see, to tell us there is something nasty around.”

Computational design of Medford’s detection trait was initially done in collaboration with Professor Homme Hellinga at Duke University and more recently with Professor David Baker at the University of Washington

How it works: The Baker and Hellinga laboratories used a computer program to redesign naturally occurring proteins called receptors. These re-designed receptors specifically recognize a pollutant or explosive. Medford’s lab then modifies these computer redesigned receptors to function in plants, and targets them to the plant cell wall where they can recognize pollutants or explosives in the air or soil near the plant. The plant detects the substance and activates an internal signal that causes the plant to lose its green color, turning the plants white.

Moving forward, Medford will use her team of some 30 undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to focus on such factors as speeding up detection time. The initial or first-generation plants respond to an explosive in hours, but improvements are underway to reduce the response time to a few minutes.

Based on research so far, the ability of detection is similar or even better than dogs. The nature of detection could be used for any plant and can detect multiple pollutants at once. Professor Medford and his team recently received a three-year grant worth 7.9 million dollars from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency to bring their discoveries to the "real world." The study appears in the journal PLoS ONE.




The invention is a good news especially to be applied to my country, Indonesia where often got a bomb terror.
So what's you comment?