U.S. scientists develop plants that able detect bombs. They "teach" the plant proteins to change color when a certain chemical element. To apply the research results is not difficult, for example, plants can be used wrapped around the security gates. When terrorists approached with explosives, all plants change color to white.
Daily Mail report, the plant was working because the receptor protein in the DNA of plants naturally respond to stimulus threat by releasing chemicals called terpenoids to thicken the epidermis of leaves, the result leaves change color. The research was undertaken by the University of Colorado biology professor, June Medford joint headquarters U.S. armed forces, the Pentagon. "Plants can not run or hide from threats, so they developed a sophisticated system to detect and respond to their environment," said professor Medford.
The researchers designed a computer program to manipulate the plant's natural defense mechanism to "teach" its receptors respond to chemical explosives as well as air pollutants and water pollutants. The redesigned receptors is modified in order to function in plant cell walls so that they could identify pollutants or explosives in the air or the ground nearby. Plants that detect compounds and activate the internal signals that cause the loss of green color and turn it into white foliage.
The plants ability to detect 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.
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