Spinach is one of the healthiest vegetables which can be added to the daily diet. A versatile ingredient, the leafy green is enriched with vitamins A, C, K as well as minerals such as Iron, Manganese and Magnesium. Among the multiple health benefits, Spinach is best known to strengthen bones and maintain good eyesight and immunity. However, according to recent reports, scientists have found an all-new function of the humble vegetable. Believe it or not, scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Techonlogy (MIT) have transformed spinach leaves into sensors capable of detecting information and relaying it back to the scientists via email. Take a look:
As per an in-depth study on Nature Materials, scientists have used a field of technological research called 'Plant Nanobionics' to achieve this extraordinary feat. "Here, we demonstrate that living spinach plants can be engineered to serve as self-powered pre-concentrators and autosamplers of analytes in ambient groundwater and as infrared communication platforms that can send information to a smartphone," reads the paper. Thus, spinach leaves are now being converted into sensors, which can detect the presence of compounds in the soil. When they are detected, an infrared camera picks up the signal and sends an email alert to scientists. Spinach could, therefore, be used to warn the researchers about factors such as pollution, climate change and even explosives like land mines etc.
The tweet about the news was shared by @euronewsliving and it soon went viral on social media. Several users reacted to the bizarre yet interesting development in the world of science. Take a look at some of the hilarious reactions by Twitterati:
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