Plant nanobionics might quickly become a new buzz word; it’s the technology that allows us insight into plants’ senses .
In nanobionics, researchers can create nanoparticles that plants can absorb through their root system, which then relay information about what the plants can sense about their environment. Currently, this technology is being used to detect the presence of explosive chemicals. However, in the future, plants could give us a deep understanding of how they are being affected by climate change.
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The plant itself is not actually communicating.
Rather, the nanoparticles embedded in the plant sends information to smartphones. The nanoparticles can be designed to detect different biochemical components within the plant. The researchers in this study, for example, designed them to detect explosive particles .
Their work was built on another research group who created tobacco plants that could monitor the amount of mercury or TNT in the groundwater. If detected, the plants would become less green. However, those plants were genetically altered instead of using nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology has more benefits than genetic manipulation.
Because a plant with embedded nanoparticles has not been altered in any way, there is no fear of the plant cross-pollinating with wild populations and contaminating them.
Nanotechnology also gives researchers more freedom in how information is communicated. Genetically altered plants have to use the plants’ systems to communicate. For example, they would have to make the plant change from green to brown to communicate something; nanoparticles can directly send data to electronic devices.
There is a lot we can learn from plants.
Michael Strano, who lead the research, explained to Euronews that “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.”
He hopes his research will help to overcome the communication barrier between plants and humans.
Plants could become a more active participant in our climate action response with nanobionic technology as well.
Strano believes that plants close connection to the environment can give us tremendous insight. He says, “They know that there is going to be a drought long before we do. They can detect small changes in the properties of soil and water potential. If we tap into those chemical signaling pathways, there is a wealth of information to access.”
This research may lead to a new era of human-plant collaborative research!
h/t: EuroNews
