Using BioBrick DNA to Create Bacterial Landmine Sensor

2009, November 20 - 10:23am — Greg Kontos

Features: Current EventsCritical Path Innovation: BiologyInstitutions: Edinburgh University, BioBrick FoundationFree Tagging: BioBrick

A quick look at BioBricks and a student project from Edinburgh Univesity.

The Project
A student project at Edinburgh University has created a landmine sensor using bacteria and a DNA manipulation process called 'BioBricking' according to BBC News, et al. The bacteria glows green in the presence of explosives.

According to the BBC News

Edinburgh University said the microbes could be dropped by air onto danger areas.

Sounds like a pretty neat idea. Although some posters at BoingBoing have noted the nefarious implications of being able to carpet bomb an area with DNA. And at Inhabitat.com the netizens have noted that the bacteria should be known to be safe before use.

What is BioBricking
First off, it seems that BioBricking is a bit of a misnomer. BioBrick genetic parts are trademarked names for bits of DNA that have been entered into an open source database of genetic code. The database is run by the BioBricks Foundation. A BioBrick part is a DNA sequence with a known basic biological function.

So by 'BioBricking' you would be going through the database of known genetic material and grabbing the 'parts' needed to create the desired biological response.

Other projects which made use of BioBricks include arsenic sensors and bacterial production of minty smells.