Genetically Modified Flower Detects Landmines

cdneng2 writes "Yahoo has the story that a Danish company has developed a plant that can detect landmines. The genetically modified weed that has been coded to change color when its roots come in contact with nitrogen-dioxide (NO2) evaporating from explosives buried in soil." The company website has a bit more information.

What Happens

[City_Idiot]

When the kids of 3 world countries run out into the fields to pick the flowers??

Yes, but...

[dustmote]

Who's going to volunteer to plant them? BOOOM!!! Still, this is a pretty neat idea. Might not be so good for people who are color-blind, like my dad. :)

Why do they have to change color?

[Kaeru the Frog]

Shouldn't the gardeners blowing up while planting flowers be enough?

I can't help myself...

[10101001011]

Someone's going to be pushing up the daisies!

Pick the flower

[c_oflynn]

I can just see a field of flowers all one colour.

Then there is one flower that is a different colour, and you think its so unique. You go over to take a look at it...

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Big deal

[overshoot]

The grass in my back yard turns green around land mines already.

OK, seriously, this is great. Too many kids are missing body parts from old munitions.

The hippies were right all along

[addie]

Flower power!

Phase 2

[John Jorsett]

Develop the next generation flower that detonates itself, taking out the mine, instead of just turning a different color. You'd probably risk being gunned down by airport security for carrying flowers, but progress comes at a price ...

Re:Yes, but...

[mlush]

Who's going to volunteer to plant them? BOOOM!!!

somehow I think landmines will not blow up if a small weed seed falls on them

Re:What Happens

[Anonymous Coward]

When the kids of 3[rd] world countries run out into the fields to pick the flowers??

Hilarity ensues.

Just kidding. [anti-slash.org]

Larry Niven completes it.

[AtariAmarok]

Now, crossbreed them with those heatbeam-shooting Ringworld sunflowers, and you've got something that detects mines, and then blows them up.

Now, how do you get rid of the fields of killer sunflowers covering the landscape? Errmm. sorry, didn't hear that. Gotta go...

Re:Yes, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know about that...I've always had trouble with keeping weed alive, rather than it growing itself. My roommate might have something to do with that, though...dirty pothead.

What do you need flowers for!

[Mieckowski]

All you have to do is look at the numbers in the adjacent boxes.

People are so lazy!

Re:GM is good

[Felix The Cat]

Well, this might be one use of GM where the environmentalists can't complain much with all the children maimed and killed by these things each year...

Hrmph. Don't you believe it. There are people out there who would, in the words of my father, "bitch if you hung 'em with a new rope."

Thought it was mimes

[AtariAmarok]

Sorry, I thought this was about flowers detecting mimes. I was so looking forward to using this during my next trip to New York City. My mistake.

Re:Yes, but...

[GrenDel Fuego]

Then you just have to worry about birds eating them.. but hey, if a bird explodes, you found a mine.

To think, all this time...

[foxtrot]

...I've just been using my binoculars.

"Landmine spotted, check your command map."

I didn't even notice a "gardner" class in the limbo screen...

-JDF

Re:Yes, but...

[synth7]

Who's going to volunteer to plant them?

Ah, yes... the brainpower of geekus maximus shows that it needs to get out of the house a little more often. You see, plants produce these little things called "seeds" which are actually baby plants in hibernation. These "seeds" typically germinate when sitting in suitable soil... it all depends upon the plant itself, of course: a scrub grass or low-lying shrub will grow in pretty harsh places.

Anyhow, I hope you can see where this is leading. Plants tend to reproduce on their own without the need for human intervention. Of course, if you really wanted these plants to grow in a location, you could always try something innovative like flying overhead and sprinkling a mixtures of seed and fertilizer on the patch of land in question. It may take several years for the plant to get established and spread, but, well, I don't think anyone would complain about turning this particular patch of land over to these weeds for a time, as it's a bit tricky to use it for anything with all those mines in it anyhow.

Honestly, at least half a dozen people have posted "How are they going to plant it?!?" without ever bothering to stop and think for a second. What is this, Fark.com?

Another one, In bad taste

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't plants already turn red around landmines? When somebody finds one, anyway.

Re:What Happens

[catbutt]

We not only get rid of mines, but wipe out color blindness. Two birds with one stone!

Re:KEEP MOVING!!!

[lcsjk]

It's probably safer to take a chance on land mines than to be swallowed up by Kudzu while you're asleep. ... Look out on the sides of the roads in parts of Alabama and Georgia and you'll see the humps/bumps where cows and cars have paused too long and succumbed to the onslaught of fast growing Kudzu. ..... On the other hand, if you could genetically engineer Kudzu to die unless it encountered a land mine, it could turn red and within a few hours, assuming normal growth rate, protect the mine from intrusion by kids, adults and animals. Within a few days, it might even protect against tractors and tanks getting to the mine. Within a few weeks, the local population would be devoured and there would be no one left to get to the mines anyway, so there would be no need for exploding the mines. Very cost effective.

Re:What Happens

[Anonymous Coward]

*singing*

"Tiptoe through the tulips..."

Re:As long as nobody patents them...

[eegad]

These plants could be a really inexpensive way of exposing landmines. I really hope this project works out.

Sorry, I've already patented the idea of leaving really useful things unpatented.

Re:Drop them from planes over third world countrie

[dustmote]

Oh, now reassuring. That means they're going to reproduce, escape to the mainland, and make several bad sequels, right? :)

Minesweeper Flowers

[slstickle]

Will these flowers be genetically engineered to have numbers on them, indicating how many mines are growing in the plots next to them?

Planting...

[bmorris]

Sounds like a swell idea, so long as I don't have be the guy that walks throught the field and plants the seeds...

Re:Scatter the seeds by plane.

[SoSueMe]

They're going to be called "MyDoom" blooms.
Watch for them in an e-mail real soon.

Re:Yes, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

Awesome! If I were a kid living in one of these mine-laden third world countries, I'd spend my days just sitting besides the field and watching the birds explode.

Re:What Happens

[Alkaiser]

You know...if *I* were a scientist, I would just hand out normal seeds, and tell people to plant them. :)

Re:Yes, but...

[TWX]

"...to prevent the genetically modified weed from spreading in areas where it isn't wanted."

Like, the United States Drug Czar's office?

I can see it now....

[Anonymous Coward]

Captain: Company, halt!! This empty stretch of land looks a bit suspicious. Soldier: Want me to call in the plants, Sir? Captain: Aye, soldier. Alright, men, let's rig up some form of irrigation so we can water these babies. Soldiers: Yes, sir! Captain: Johnson, you still have that deck of playing cards? We are going to be here a while... -- 3 to 6 weeks later -- Soldier: Sir, it looks clear. No red flowers. Captain: Oh well, guess I was wrong. Foward, march!

Re:What Happens

[gorilla]

The alternative is to further engineer the flowers to look or smell unpleasant, so kids will leave them alone.

That works for girls, but makes the flowers more attractive to boys, for purposes of torturing the girls.

Why Genetically Modified?

[bay43270]

As long as your spreading seed by airplane, just use bird seed... let the birds find the mines!

Inspector Fescue

[Sanksa Wott]

I think some of those weed genes were around when I was a kid in my parents yard.

But the ones at my parents house only detected dog poop and septic tanks. And they changed the grass from its natural beige color to strange dark-green hue. :)

One more thing

[InsaneCreator]

Small print: you need to plow the minefield first.

Re:What Happens

[geekoid]

".. look or smell unpleasant, so kids will leave them alone."

you don't have any kids, do you?

Only a couple of turns

[sunbeam60]

no, the US is not a democracy -- it's a republic

Right, but it only takes a few turns with anarchy to change into a democracy so the difference is really moot. Yes, yes, I know military units now cause two unhappy citizens instead of one, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Re:Will they grow in desserts?

[aardvarkjoe]

Will they grow in desserts?

They'll grow in cake and fresh pie, but they won't grow so well in cold climates such as ice cream.

Re:Why do they have to change color?

[placeclicker]

so its like a giant version of minesweeper..