Cockroaches — future of insects "Scout"

Future cockroaches can help humanity discovers the secret of pathogenic micro-organisms in the environment, toxic chemical pollutants ...

In your trampled to death a cockroach can ever thought of before: it may be the fight against the "ceiling" and "cholera" or other counter-terrorism campaign a "Scout". At least, the United States Sandia National laboratory materials scientist Jeff · Brinker will want it. Brinker and its research team designed a programme that allows this kind of annoying insects away, become subtle environment detection of biological or chemical substances "Scouts."

The idea is not so strange. United States Department of Defense is looking at how to use the size of the robot and even bugs alive WaSP to complete similar tasks. In crazy "cockroaches" 3 years ago, Brinker has applied for a Department of Defense Fund project, the research aims to use the bee's sense of smell to detect explosives. Next turn to cockroaches on the field. "Their vitality extremely stubborn. "Brinker says," in addition, they are suitable for detection of subtle and crack. "But how to implement their plan? Brinker think, lies in the genetic modification, encounter some harmful substances can glow of yeast cells pasted into a cockroach, so that it can detect subtle ambient contaminates.

Brinker's colleagues, biochemists Susan · tiemblo Janacek said that, as a biological sensor of living cells compared with the mechanical sensor, it has many potential benefits: a small, cheap, very sensitive to the surrounding environment.

But living cells in vitro to survival in General, in order to resolve this problem, Sandia research team to the cell surface on a layer of sol-gel compound. This liquid materials by Brinker invention, its main ingredient is silica. This liquid coating curing, can be turned into only a few nanometers thick, porous shell, shell of microporous storage of nutrients to maintain cell survival and can let the cells and the outside environment for gas exchange.

To date, the research team has been built to detect the yeast of Vibrio cholerae. Its cells turn into a green fluorescent protein gene of, jellyfish marked sensitive gene of cholera, once the existence of Vibrio cholerae in the environment, the yeast will glow. Currently, they are engaged in anthrax research work, and hope that ultimately rely on the technology found other toxic substances.

Sandia is not a development with cells as sensor only laboratory. Last year, MIT scientists have genetically modified through observation of mouse cell glow to detect the smallpox virus and Bacillus anthracis. United States Wayne State University's molecular biologist Craig · Kat Roques, is working on will make bread with yeast when fermentation after reconstruction, used to detect contaminants and industrial waste.

Although Brinker has not really equipment a cockroach "Scout", but he said it is very easy. The scientists of the inkjet printer, so that it can emit a sol-gel complex packages of cells into silicon and glass or plastic surface. If you paste in back of cockroaches on yeast chip, it can be used as the secret service to perform the task. ．．．．．．