Scientists across many institutions are exploring the cyborg botany field which transforms plants into living circuit boards.
About Cyborg Botany:
It is a hybrid system that integrates living plants with electronic components.
It is an intersection of biology, materials science, and engineering.
The word ‘cyborg’ itself comes from ‘cybernetic organism’, a concept long associated with science fiction.
Its goal is to use the biological processes of living plants and merge them with artificial electronic functionality.
Working:
Embedding Nanowires and Electronic Transistors: These can be directly embedded into plant cell walls, where they can function as biosensors, picking up biochemical changes as they happen.
Polymers as living wires: Certain conductive polymers such as PEDOT (a biodegradable, electrically conductive material) can act as living wires within plant tissue, carrying signals from the plant’s cells to an external device.
Significance:
Plants face two broad types of stress: biotic stress, such as pest infestations and disease, and abiotic stress, such as drought and extreme temperatures.
If a sensor embedded in a crop plant could flag a moisture deficit or a disease signal days or weeks before the physical symptoms appear.
Farmers could intervene early by applying water and nutrients or treatments only where and when they are needed.
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