Every rose has its thorn – but roses grown in a Swedish lab have transistors and electrodes too.
Researchers at Linköping University have created bionic roses by incorporating plant-compatible electronic materials into them. One of their modified roses has simple digital circuits running through its stem: another’s leaf changes colour when a voltage is applied.
The scientists want to make tools for biologists to record or regulate plant physiology — the plant equivalent of medical implants such as pacemakers. Electronic components might also be a way to engineer plants instead of manipulating their DNA.
Source & further reading:http://www.nature.com/news/bionic-roses-implanted-with-electronic-circuits-1.18851
Image: roses have been infiltrated with conductive polymers in their leaves or stems.
Credit: Eliot Gomez/Linköping University.
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