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Your email address will not be published.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 *

Advertisement
Advertisement

You May Also Like

Science

It might be 100 trillion years away, but what will the end of our universe look like?

Health & Wellbeing

There's something amazing about the transformative power of sound. One noise can spark so many emotions, so many different memories. From the birds chirping...

Science

Swiss poo bank wants to freeze your stool.

Science

25 is the new 18 when it comes to reaching full frontal lobe maturity.

Science

Leaving England just after 22:00, the jet suffered an 'anomaly', according to the company, and shortly returned to base.

Science

Astronomers have found new research that suggests there may be a secret ninth planet orbiting in the depths of our solar system.

Science

Researchers achieve "net energy gain" for the first time in nuclear history.

Science

A hopeful start for a new generation of cures?

Science

But is it accurate or is the show 'dangerous history'?

Science

So, turns out we're definitely living in the Matrix.

Science

25 is the age at which our brain is fully developed according to science. These physical changes can often cause a sense of new...