Feb 4th 2011, 17:18 by A.B.
MICE are coming to an airport near you. An Israeli start-up company, BioExplorers, has harnessed the rodents' olfactory abilities to develop an explosive-detecting system that could have applications in the aviation industry.The New Scientist explains how the machine would work:
Along one side of an archway [in a device similar to a full-body scanner], a detection unit contains three concealed cartridges, each of which houses eight mice. During their 4-hour shifts in the detector, the mice mill about in a common area in each cartridge as air is passed over people paused in the archway and through the cartridge. When the mice sniff traces of any of eight key explosives in the air, they are conditioned to avoid the scent and flee to a side chamber, triggering an alarm. To avoid false positives, more than one mouse must enter the room at the same time.
Mice are even better than dogs at this, apparently, thanks to a greater quantity of "olfactory receptor genes". BioExplorers has reported a successful recent test at a shopping mall, where the mice performed heroically: "More than 1000 people passed through the detector, 22 of whom were asked to hide mock explosives in pockets or under shirts. All 22 packages were detected... [and] the false-alarm rate was less than 0.1 per cent."
Obviously mice can't smell knives, so passengers would still have to walk through some kind of metal detector. And there's something disconcerting and sweatshop-like about mice being trapped in containers to sniff air. But when not working (two four-hour shifts a day) they "live in comfortable cages with unlimited access to food and water". And we're sure they would be happy to sacrifice a bit of comfort in order to play their part in the war on terror
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