Genetically Engineered Mice May Be Able to Detect Landmines

The mouse, a common sight in many biology laboratories, may help make the world a little bit safer.  Scientists at the Hunter College of the City University of New York have been working on breeding mice that can detect hidden landmines.  There are millions of hidden landmines scattered throughout the world, and current removal techniques are inefficient.  Prior to the research done at Hunter College, an organization in Belgium called APOPO has been training African pouched rats to detect landmines through scent.  The program has worked well, but training the rats takes several months and is cost prohibitive.



The scientists at Hunter College have been working to genetically engineer mice to make them extremely sensitive to TNT, a compound commonly found in mines.  The Food and Drug Administration defines genetic engineering as, “... a process in which recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology is used to introduce desirable traits into organisms.”  The mice were genetically modified to contain 10,000 to 1,000,000 odor-sensing neurons that can detect TNT.  This is a vast improvement over the typical 4,000 neurons found in a regular mouse.  Danny Dhanasekaran, a biologist at the University of Oklahoma, discovered that mice can detect TNT through the 2,4-dinitrotoluene-responsive receptor.  A recent study shows that mice can undergo seizures due to extremely strong scents.  It is hoped that the genetically engineered mice will go through an involuntary seizure to show the presence of a landmine.  This is currently being tested.  If successful, mice would not need expensive and lengthly training required to detect mines.

I found the research described in this article to be incredibly informative and innovative.  The scientists at Hunter College were able to use previous research conducted on mice scent receptors and behavior for a real life application.  The research highlights the benefits that can be had from genetically engineered organisms.  If the mice are successful in the field, they will have the ability to make certain parts of the world safer and alleviate human suffering.