Yahoo! News - Flower-Power Could Help Clear Land mines: "COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A Danish biotech company has developed a genetically modified flower that could help detect land mines and it hopes to have a prototype ready for use within a few years.
'We are really excited about this, even though it's early days. It has considerable potential,' Simon Oestergaard, chief executive of developing company Aresa Biodetection, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
The genetically modified weed has been coded to change color when its roots come in contact with nitrogen-dioxide (NO2) evaporating from explosives buried in soil.
Within three to six weeks from being sowed over land mine infested areas the small plant, a Thale Cress, will turn a warning red whenever close to a land mine.
'We are really excited about this, even though it's early days. It has considerable potential,' Simon Oestergaard, chief executive of developing company Aresa Biodetection, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
The genetically modified weed has been coded to change color when its roots come in contact with nitrogen-dioxide (NO2) evaporating from explosives buried in soil.
Within three to six weeks from being sowed over land mine infested areas the small plant, a Thale Cress, will turn a warning red whenever close to a land mine.
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