holding steady.™

i have a hard time sometimes being particularly enchanted by the human spirit. but i read an old story in GOOD magazine this morning that gave me a little hope. here’s the bit, word for word (under the heading “Herbaceous Innovation,” by Ben Jervey):

Offering a more aggressive sort of protection is a kind of biosensor—a weed known as Thales cress—that has been genetically modified to provide a natural warning in the presence of land mines. Thales cress is inherently sensitive to nitrogen dioxide, a chemical byproduct of land mines. The Copenhagen-based biotech company Aresa tweaked the weed’s genes so that its leaves would turn from their natural green to bright red in the presence of latent explosives. Field test s have thus far been successful, meaning traditional methods of human and canine mine detection may soon have a less dangerous alternative.

GOOD Magazine, Issue 006, Sept/Oct 2007, page 26

there is some hope for us, when a company (with not a whole lot of foreseeable financial benefit to developing a weed to suss out land mines and extend some lives) develops a weed to suss out land mines and extend some lives.