Wednesday, January 28, 2004
FUTURE: Welcome to the future ladies and gents. Scientists in Denmark have developed genetically modified flowers that change color in the presence of land-mines.
Within three to six weeks from being sowed over land mine infested areas the small plant, a Thale Cress, will turn a warning red whenever close to a land mine.It'll be things like this that define the future. There are already people working on projects like plants that eat toxic waste and cotton with built in resistance to wrinkles. Something like wrinkle resistant cotton doesn't seem like much but it's like when I read about screen-savers on cell phones. You know you have a handle on a piece of technology when you start doing small, seemingly pointless things with it. A screen saver on a cell phone is pretty pointless but the idea that you have a phone with the screen and processor enough to even do that is big.
Building plants in a lab to solve very difficult problems like land-mine detection is a sign that we've entered a new period in history. We're building living things to help us achieve our goals. Next up is engineering improvements in ourselves. I can't wait.