Application of genetically modified plants looking for explosives

Recently, US scientists have discovered another new advantage of plants is that after being genetically engineered, they can be used in counterterrorism, detecting explosives.

Scientists at Colorado State University in the United States have found a new way to search for explosives through taking advantage of the plant's defense response.

According to Colorado State University biologist Dmitry Ford, in the evolution of organisms, human development is increasingly strong due to constantly adapting to the environment.

Scientists have cultivated a green mustard that can be used to test TNT explosives.
Illustration

However, humans also lose their sensitivity to the environment, unable to predict the danger from the surrounding environment. Therefore, people are forced to rely on some external forces such as machines and creatures.

Plants do not have organs that feel like animals and do not run around like animals. However, they can also feel the environment to go to safe places and avoid dangerous places. So humans can take advantage of these properties of plants to monitor the environment.

Based on the special characteristics of plants, scientists have cultivated a green mustard that can be used to test TNT explosives. The experiment showed that when they tested TNT explosives, they would appear to have a color change reaction, the leaves of most broccoli will turn yellow.

In addition, some plants turn white. However, when removing the explosive, the color of the tree has changed from white or yellow to blue.

According to scientists, the current ability to search for explosives of plants is equivalent to or even better than that of dogs. Anti-terrorist plants do not need a special plant species, any plant after genetic improvement can successfully complete the task of finding explosives; At the same time, many different types of chemicals can be tested.

This shows that in the future when entering a dangerous human area, just carrying an anti-terrorist plant can know the threat from explosives.

According to US Department of Defense and Homeland Security officials, in the next few years this technology can be applied at major airports.