Gentically-modified bacteria glow when they detect landmines

 Posted by on 20 November 2009  Modern Life
Nov 202009
 

Every so often I am reminded that we live in the future.

No, there are no jetpacks, and no good flying cars. But my cellphone is basically about 2/3 of a tricorder.

And now there are genetically-altered bacteria that you can air-drop over a minefield, and they will glow where the landmines are.

From the BBC:

The bugs can be mixed into a colourless solution, which forms green patches when sprayed onto ground where mines are buried.

Edinburgh University said the microbes could be dropped by air onto danger areas.

Within a few hours, they would indicate where the explosives can be found.

But the real kicker? The project is student-led. This isn’t weird-o lab science. This is hands-on learning.

Wow.

Grant Hamilton

  • http://www.pennywise-books.com/ T. Keith Edmunds

    Whattaya mean “no jetpacks”? Don’t you read this blog? http://www.absurdintellectual.com/2009/07/22/finally-a-jet-pack-to-hit-the-market/

    • http://www.absurdintellectual.com/ Grant Hamilton

      oh yeah, I meant to link to that. Those, ahem, “jetpacks” are as close to my imagination as the Moller car is to the Jetsons’ cars. A jetpack that’s tethered to the ground is barely worthy of the name.

      Now, GLOWING BACTERIA THAT DETECT LANDMINES!

  • http://www.cgnoto.com Noto

    You know if you had an iPhone you’re phone “could” actually be a tricorder…. there’s an app made by Nasa (if I remember correctly) that has an attachment to detect whether or not the air is breathable.

    http://gizmodo.com/5403126/one-day-this-will-be-remembered-as-the-first-real-tricorder

    To coin a phrase…. “there’s an app for that!”