Very soon, honey bee will be assisting our U.S. military defense troops abroad by sniffing out explosives used in bombs! True, it sounds a bit weird! But, the defense scientists there are trying to do just that.
Bees have an exceptional olfactory sense and the scientists have developed a method to harness it, according to an online statement by scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
Inspired by the Pavlovian techniques on the bees’ natural response to nectar — a sticking out of their tongue or proboscis extension reflex — the scientists hit upon it the mechanism to give the same reflex action when they were exposed to vapors from explosives! Their ability to sniff explosives like dynamite, C4 plastic and TATP (triacetone triperoxide) — often used by suicide bombers – to save the troops abroad for risk of exposure to it.
This mechanism and trained honey bees can also be used to monitor such pollution of the atmosphere and actions can be taken on time, before it causes health hazards to people living in the area.
