Mine detection with... bacteria
The current way to detect unexploded bombs is to use detectors or some smelling animals. But Israeli scientists have just come up with a new, less dangerous method, using bacteria that can glow.
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According to the Mine and Cluster Munitions Monitor, up to 20,000 people are killed or injured each year by landmines. It is estimated that more than 100 million landmines remain buried in former war zones around the world.
The simple solution used today is to probe and dig up the debris to remove it. This technique is outdated and extremely dangerous. This method of disposal has not been improved since World War II.
Bomb disposal workers must walk through areas with explosive devices to locate them with metal detectors and then bring them to the surface.
Scientists have come up with many different methods of detecting mines, such as using elephants to smell, using drones to map, or using robots to destroy mines. But these methods are not very effective.
Now, instead of focusing on large animals like elephants, a team of scientists is turning to bacteria.
According to a new publication in the journal Nature Biotechnology, scientists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, used genetically modified Escherichia coli bacteria to remotely identify unexploded devices underground.
Escherichia coli is placed in microscopic polymer beads and spread over minefields. When exposed to fumes from underground mines, the bacteria glow, allowing a laser system to map the location of unexploded ordnance.
The experimental results of this method are promising. But Shimshon Belkin, a member of the research team, said there are still some issues to overcome, such as increasing the sensitivity, stability of the bacteria and improving the speed of scanning large areas before this method can be applied in the field. And even if the bacteria can detect mines, safe demining is still an issue that needs to be improved.
