Reuters reports on the latest in Israeli brilliance: Scientists “listening” to plants to find water pollution.
Scientists in Israel have discovered a new way to test for water pollution by “listening” to what the plants growing in water have to say.
By shining a laser beam on the tiny pieces of algae floating in the water, the researchers said they hear sound waves that tell them the type and amount of contamination in the water.
“It is a red light, telling us that something is beginning to go wrong with the quality of water,” said Zvy Dubinsky, an aquatic biologist at Israel’s Bar Ilan University. “Algae is the first thing to be affected by a change in water quality.”
And you know what they say in Israel: 2 plants, 3 opinions.