If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it 
Synthetic human embryos let researchers study early development while sidestepping ethical and logistical hurdles 
The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook 
Larger and more frequent solar storms will make for potential disruptions and spectacular auroras on Earth 
Alpha, beta, theta: what are brain states and brain waves? And can we control them? 
Genetic diseases: How scientists are working to make DNA repair (almost) a piece of cake 
Orbital resonance − the striking gravitational dance done by planets with aligning orbits 
The brain is the most complicated object in the universe. This is the story of scientists’ quest to decode it – and read people’s minds 
Spacesuits need a major upgrade for the next phase of exploration 
Tatahouine: 'Star Wars meteorite' sheds light on the early Solar System 
Archeoastronomy uses the rare times and places of previous total solar eclipses to help us measure history 
Customizing mRNA is easy, and that's what makes it the next frontier for personalized medicine − a molecular biologist explains 
Why is the universe ripping itself apart? A new study of exploding stars shows dark energy may be more complicated than we thought 
For the most part, the leafy green spinach has only ever been super in the animated classic Popeye the Sailor Man when the quirky main character would down a whole can of the leaves to gain strength. Recently, scientists actually gave the greens new abilities, which turns them into sensors. Humans can then communicate with the super spinach to gather data such as whether or not there’s a bomb around.
This odd route to scientific advancement is the work of engineers at MIT, Futurism reports. The Spinach is the first example of a specimen belonging in plant nano Bionics, which basically involves infusing organic life forms with artificial aspects. In the case of the spinach, the leaves had carbon nanotubes embedded into them, thus turning the plant into something it was never meant to be.
Before people start condemning this conceivably unnatural act, however, the spinach leaves were actually given the ability to detect certain nitroaromatics. These are properties found in compounds with explosive characteristics. Basically, the scientists created spinach bomb detectors.
One of the people behind the project is Professor Michael Strano. Speaking to MIT News, Prof. Strano explains what the goal of the research is and what it means to science as a whole.
“The goal of plant nanobionics is to introduce nanoparticles into the plant to give it non-native functions,” he said before adding, “This is a novel demonstration of how we have overcome the plant/human communication barrier.”
Prof. Strano is a huge proponent of the concept that plants can play a major role in the advancement of scientific efforts, particularly ones that have to do with pollution and protecting the environment. He is particularly keen when it comes to the network that plants can build for themselves, able to constantly monitor soil and groundwater characteristics to detect pollutants or harmful chemicals.
