Bacteria vs mines
Israeli scientists have developed a new method of remote search for mines with the help of bacteria, which will save the lives of many soldiers.
Detailed scientific work published in the month of April in the journal Nature Biotechnology, reports vesty.co.il.
Nowadays, about 100 of millions of explosive objects in operational and inoperative condition in the 70 countries of the world are located underground. At the same time, they are still being searched for in most cases by “grandfather's” methods, that is, with a significant risk to life.
A group of researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, headed by Professor Shimshon Belkin, managed to grow genetically modified bacteria on the basis of Escherichia coli, which glow in the presence of explosives in the medium. Microorganisms are scattered in potentially dangerous areas and then monitored for their behavior with the help of remote equipment.
The action of the system is based on the reaction of bacteria to chemicals emitted in small quantities by mines. Bacteria placed in polymer granules are scattered around the minefield, and their fluorescence is then detected using a laser system that can be installed in a vehicle, including unmanned aerial vehicles. The system was successfully tested on real minefields in northern Israel, scanning the ground at a speed of about 18 centimeters per second. Developers expect to further improve this figure.
Researchers placed around 100 000 bacteria into polymer balls made from algae and sprayed them over a minefield. A day later, they used a laser to remotely determine and quantify fluorescence from a distance of 20 meters. Later, they reported on bringing the detection time to three hours, as well as on working to limit the lifetime of the bacteria, in order to reduce the mass fears about the potential danger of genetically modified organisms in the environment.
“Our field data show that engineering biosensors may be useful in a mine detection system,” said Professor Shimshon Belkin, who led the experiment. “In order for the technology to be possible, several problems need to be overcome, such as increasing the sensitivity and stability of sensory bacteria, increasing the scanning speed to cover large areas and creating a more compact scanning device so that it can be used on board an unmanned aircraft.”
Researchers note the effectiveness, convenience and low cost of the method. The necessary bacteria are easy to grow and store in the refrigerator or in dried form. The new method was successfully tested in a minefield in northern Israel.
Three years ago, Belkin and his colleagues obtained a by-product of their experiments — modified bacteria suitable for detecting contaminants in water.
However, this method is not new and was invented, in principle, not by Jews. Back in 2009, Scottish scientists conducted similar work. They have developed a simple and inexpensive way to detect mines using bacteria. Microorganisms are created using a new technology called BioBricking and allowing you to manipulate parts of the DNA of bacteria.
Biologists from the University of Edinburgh have created a special kind of bacteria that begin to glow brightly in the presence of unexploded mines - more precisely, substances that eventually flow from ammunition and enter the soil.
Then a colorless mixture is created, which several hours after it is applied to the land containing the mines, it starts to glow green. A peculiar solution of bacteria can be watered in suspicious places. If the area is large and very dangerous, you can spray it, for example, from an airplane (as is sometimes done with water or fertilizer, pesticides).
The main advantages of the new method are: ease of manufacture, low cost of production of the mixture and accuracy in determining the position of ammunition.
“Such an anti-mine sensor is another example of how innovative advances in science help ordinary people,” says one of the authors, Dr. Alistair Elfic, in a university press release.
Sources:
http://www.vesty.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4948243,00.html
http://www.trust.ua/news/140007-v-izraile-bakterii-naucili-iskat-miny.html
http://www.cmk1.ru/v-izraile-uchatsya-iskat-miny-s-pomoshhyu-bakterij-lazerov-i-dronov/
http://wordyou.ru/253238izrailtyanedlyapoiskaminpredlagayutispolzovatbakterii.html
http://www.vesty.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4948243,00.html
https://indicator.ru/news/2017/04/12/bakterii-i-miny/?utm_source=rnews
Information