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Bomb-Detecting Bees

Posted by timothy on from the thanks-honey dept.

jmichaelg writes: "The NY Times is running an article on using bees to sniff out bombs. Bees can smell scents that are diluted to a few parts per billion (the Times says "few thousand parts per trillion," but what do you expect in an innumerate society?) The bees are trained to pass up flowers in favor of bombs within a couple of hours using sugar water as the reward. What I found to be one of the most interesting findings was that the bees communicate what the target scent is so you only need to teach a few bees what to look for and they'll pass the word on to rest of the colony. The Dept of Defense is developing a radio transmitter the size of a grain of salt they'll glue to the bees to communicate where the bomb is to the bee handlers."

4 of 20 comments (clear)

  1. PPQ by DaoudaW · · Score: 4, Informative

    hunt for 2,4-dinitrotoluene, or DNT, a residue in TNT and other explosives, in concentrations as tiny as a few thousandths of a part per trillion.

    Speaking of innumeracy, that would be parts per quadrillion, not parts per billion.

  2. the best idea by tps12 · · Score: 5, Funny
    You know what would be way better than bomb-detecting bees? Bee-detecting bombs!

    Imagine: a family reunion. Barbecue and beer in the park. The shady trees and babbling brook. Paradise.

    Then: the buzzing of bees! A nest of trouble, stirred up by your mischievous nephew!

    What to do?!?

    Enter: your anti-bee force! A fleet of tiny jets, autonomous yet steered by a microchip! They soar around, bombing the bees with poison gas! The festivities continue, bee free!

    --

    Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
  3. Diamond Age here we come... by tswinzig · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Will the bomb-carriers will have their own swarm of bees trained to kill any bees sniffing around in their vicinity?

    Will they also train the bees to viciously swarm and attack the person carrying the bomb?

    --

    "And like that ... he's gone."
  4. Why Bees are a brilliant choice! by soulcuttr · · Score: 4, Funny
    I can see in my head what will happen.
    1. A bomb threat is called in
    2. The local beekeeper is called
    3. A few trained bees teach the beekeeper's bees in an impromptu training session
    4. A voice over a megaphone exclaims "RELEASE THE BEES!"
    And the reaction...?

    People running and screaming from the building used to scream "There's a bomb in the building!"
    Now they will scream "There's a bomb and BEES in the building!"

    -Sou|cuttr