Alexandra Brutsch
The Pentagon is seeking to develop genetically modified plants that can identify threats. A French-speaking Swiss start-up is trying to join the project.
Easier to deploy than an armada of agents, more discreet than a police dog and more aesthetic than a portal of detection, the green plant could become a new key element to guarantee our safety.
This is at least what DARPA, the US agency for the development of new technologies for military use, provides. The entity, which depends on the Department of Defence, is at the origin of many inventions that have had a major impact worldwide such as the Internet, GPS and weather forecasts.
With its new plant-spying project, simply titled “Advanced Plant Technologies Program”, DARPA intends to modify the physiology of plants to make them capable of detecting chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, as well as electromagnetic waves. The idea is to develop sensors sensitive to certain stimuli that can transmit these signals from a distance. “Plants can easily be installed everywhere, are widely used and do not require external power,” say the program’s initiators.
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