mmalabanan
A team of scientists from Linkoping University in Sweden has created the world’s first cyberplant.
By implanting analog and digital electronic circuits inside a living rose’s vascular system, scientists can now regulate growth and chemical processes in plants. Moreover, they can now harness photosynthesis in order to create new solar cells.
“Previously, we had no good tools for measuring the concentration of various molecules in living plants. Now we’ll be able to influence the concentration of the various substances in the plant that regulate growth and development,” explained Ove Nilsson of the Umea Plant Science Center.
In order to come up with the cyberplant, scientists added PEDOT-S, a highly conductive polymer to form wires within the interior of plant’s xylem, the tissues carrying water inside the plant. This was done by exposing rose cuttings to a solution of the polymer, which spread evenly throughout the plant to coat the xylem and form conductive structures longer than two inches. The ability of the plant to transport water and nutrients was not limited since the polymer did not completely fill the xylem.
The scientists were able to create an electrochemical transistor that turns ionic signals to an electronic output using the wires and plant sap, which is full of ions.
Moreover, the scientists filled the plant leaves with a different polymer that also belongs to the PEDOT family which created pixels around the plant’s veins. They sent electrochemical signals through the veins which then activated the pixels that in turn changes the color of the leaves, transforming them from light to dark green.
The findings of the research were published in the journal Science Advances.
