Bomb-Sniffing Cyborg Locusts Can Now Successfully Detect Explosives
Research funded by the U.S. Navy could spell the end of bomb-sniffing dogs
The bad guys wanted to blow something up — but they forgot about the cyborg bugs.
Scientists funded by the United States Navy have revealed they have successfully augmented locusts and hijacked their ability to sense a wide range of chemical odors, including explosives.
According to a preprint research paper published on February 11 in BioRxiv, the insects have been used to detect gases released by substances like ammonium nitrate, commonly used by terrorist groups for bomb-making, and the military explosives TNT and RDX. Individual locusts were able to successfully sniff out incendiary material, but the results improved when the scientists compiled data from seven or more locusts, where the detection capability was distributed across a mini-swarm.
The researchers, from Washington University in St. Louis, declined to comment for this story. But their paper describes how they transformed the bugs into would-be bomb detectors by implanting electrodes into the insects’ brains. That allowed researchers to analyze the neural activity of the locusts when they encountered certain substances.
