Benefits
- Technique can be used to detect and cleanse pollutants
Government Backing
- Danish company Aresa Biodetection
- Academy of Scientific Research and Technology
- UN
Risks
- Limited use
- Oversensitivity
- React to other munition
About it
- Modified version of thale cress, tobacco plant rose periwinkle or sugar beet
- Functional in 3-5 weeks
How it works
- Uses gene called anthocyanin to produce a red pigment
- Indicates landmine, corrodes the cast-iron body with iron-loving bacteria, and neutralizes it by releasing the gas of the degrading TNT
- Roots of the plants used have nitrogen absorbing enzymes
Issues
- Unknown environmental effects of introducing a new variation of plant to ecosystem
- Relatively cheap to produce
- Even with this new technology landmines are planted 25x faster than they are cleared
Bibliography
- http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040129/full/news040126-10.html
- http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/03/08/landmines.plant
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1038703/Scientists-develop-tobacco-plant-turns-red-detects-landmines.html
- http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0219/p11s01-stss.html
- http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/47-2008/5183-much-hyped-gm-landmine-detection-fails
- http://www.scidev.net/global/biotechnology/news/bacteria-plants-tested-in-landmine-deactivation-method.html
Stage of Development and Research
- Lab tests successful
- Large scale testing and trials
- Aborted in 2008, and was continued in 2012
Landmine Detecting Plants
Edward Su
Leo Hon