- (AFP) - DANISH researchers said Sunday they have produced
a plant that can help detect landmines by changing its colour from green
to red when its roots come in contact with explosives.
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- Scientists at Aresa, a small biotechnology firm in Copenhagen,
have worked on the genetically-modified plant for nearly three years, hoping
their discovery would help reduce the number of people hurt by stepping
on forgotten explosives.
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- Some 100 million unexploded landmines are believed to
be lurking in the soil of about 75 countries the world over and clearing
them to cultivate the soil is difficult and dangerous work.
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- "I hope the plant can be used in the search of mines,
especially in agricultural areas", Aresa Chief Executive Simon Oostergaard
told AFP on Sunday.
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- "In an initial phase, we will have to test the plant
in small restricted areas. If it turns out to work, the plant will be used
in mine-finding work," he said.
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- Initial testing will take place in Bosnia, Sri Lanka
and parts of Africa, he said.
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- The discovery is based on genetic engineering of the
plant Thale Cress, scientifically known as Arabidopsis thaliana.
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- It was still uncertain when the plant, hailed by the
Danish Red Cross as "revolutionary", might take over from dogs
and machines as a means of detecting landmines, he said.
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- The genetically-modified plant changes its colour from
green to red within three to five weeks of growth when its roots come in
contact with NO2, a chemical group present in explosives.
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- "Red is a natural colour within the plant. It is
actually the same mechanism as during the autumn or when plants are badly
watered and turn red," Oostergaard said.
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- The genetic makeup of the plant does not allow it to
spread without the help of humans. "This is crucial since we have
to be able to control its growth where we plant it", he said.
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- Another application would be the detection and removal
of heavy metals in polluted soil, Aresa said.
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- Agence France-Presse
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- http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8505006%255E13762,00.html
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