Biotech: Can Microscopic Sentries Protect US Troops?
From repelling bugs to protecting divers in dangerous waters, scientists are pushing the boundaries of biotech.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on June 27, 2019 at 2:53 PM
WASHINGTON: Sorry, Captain America fans: Defense Department scientists aren’t researching a real-world super-soldier serum. But they’re making progress on genetically engineered microorganisms that can detect and even repel a host of invisible threats to US troops, from radiation to poison gas, from environmental toxins to…mosquitos?
“Think about soldier survivability instead of super soldiers,†said Dimitra Stratis-Cullum, director of synthetic biology at the Army Research Laboratory, speaking at a Defense One conference this morning. By using engineered microbes, she said, which are tiny and need no electricity, instead of bulky battery-powered sensors, the military can infuse new sensors and defenses into soldiers’ uniforms without ever injecting a foreign substance into their bodies.
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