Tobacco plants have the ability to leak mines

A plant capable of detecting mines has just been developed by scientists: genetically modified tobacco plants.

This tobacco plant carries a gene that works to produce a red pigment in the tree that we often see in tomatoes or apples. When the roots detect nitrogen oxide leaking from the mines, their green leaves turn red for about 10 weeks.

Researcher Estelle Kempen of Stellenbosch University in South Africa said: ' A certain area with mines will show up right away because these trees will be red .'

' This tree may also indicate whether an area has been cleared of mines or not. Large mechanical equipment was used to check mines, but they could not be completely cleaned up . '

Each year, landmines cause about 18,000 casualties, with 80% of victims being civilians.

This plant has been successfully tested in laboratories and greenhouses. They are currently being tested on fields in Serbia and South Africa.

The biotech firm Aresa, which conducted the experiment, had previously tried to introduce ' red detection factor ' into a common weed called Thales watercress, but scientists think they are too small, not visible from afar.

Tobacco plants are chosen because they are flexible, easy to grow and have big leaves.

The United Nations and demining teams are very interested in the results of the experiment, because this could be an effective and economical way to mine mines.

Becky Maynard, an employee of the "No-Mine" humanitarian organization in London, said the plant would be a useful tool, but the community still needed to rely on engineers to use mines to remove mines.

Currently, about 80 million mines are buried all over the world and spread over an area of ​​about 190,000 km2. Each year, landmines cause about 18,000 casualties, with 80% of victims being civilians.

At the same time, eighty-four countries are suffering from landmines, of which Angola, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Mozambique are the worst affected countries.