Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Science

US Scientists Teach Spinach to Send Emails

Hopefully this will counterbalance all the junk mail.

Credit: Millenialab / Pixabay and Amberose Persimmon / Twitter

Scientists engineered spinach to send emails when it finds specific compounds using niche technology research called plant nanobionics.

It’s not that spinach plants have set up a Gmail account, but rather they are communicating with engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in a very technical way.

Scientists are using nanotechnology, which taps into plants and transforms them into sensors that pick up nitroaromatics in the groundwater. Once detected, the spinach sends a signal to an infrared camera, which triggers an email alert to MIT scientists.

Nitroaromatics are a compound found in landmines, which means the spinach plants can detect underground explosives.

The experiment is part of wider research that involves adding electrical systems to plants to give them new abilities. Scientists believe spinach plants could be used to detect climate change and other environmental issues.

According to a study published  in Nature Materials, the living spinach plants are engineered to ‘serve as self-powered pre-concentrators and autosamplers of analytes’ and as ‘infrared communication platforms that can send information to a smartphone.’

This basically means scientists are tweaking spinach so that the information they gather just by living in the ground can be translated and communicated to us through human technology.

Professor Michael Strano led the research, he explained to Euronews:

“Plants are very good analytical chemists. They have an extensive root network in the soil, are constantly sampling groundwater, and have a way to self-power the transport of that water up into the leaves.”

So, scientists figured out a way for spinach to communicate with humans; pretty soon we could expect an email from other plants that want a moment in the sun.

Written By

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Support Real Ones. Fund the Future.

If you read this far, you get it: young voices matter. At TRILL, every story is written by emerging writers telling the truth in a media landscape that too often silences them.

We run ads, yeah. But they don’t run us. We’re independent, mission-driven, and powered by people who believe young storytellers deserve more than just “exposure.”

Your donation goes straight to mentorship, editorial support, and launching the next wave of Gen Z writers into media careers that matter.

If that matters to you, chip in. Even $5 helps keep TRILL free, fearless, and independent.

Donate Now →
Advertisement
Advertisement

You May Also Like

Books

BookTok made reading fun again—but is it dumbing reading down? A look at the rise of anti-intellectualism on the platform.

TV & Film

With its messy relationships, explosive betrayals, and emotional meltdowns the show is still as dramatic as we expected and I’m all for it.

Style

After 28 years, Donatella Versace is stepping down as Versace's creative director! Here is a look at her unwavering legacy.

Style

Paris is the last destination for this season's Fashion Week and the top Parisian houses shine as their designs take on the runway!