They may not be man's best friend or even a friend at all, but rats someday could be used for what dogs now do: finding bombs.
Alexander Ophir, a professor at Oklahoma State University's department of zoology, is getting money from the Army Research Office to study the African giant pouched rat, an animal with bad vision but an acute sense of smell. Ophir says the rat's olfactory ability could someday be used to detect explosives.
"This is the kind of technology that would be hopefully used to save lives," Ophir told AOL News.
In fact, using rats to detect explosives is not entirely new. APOPO, a Belgian charity, already uses the African giant pouched rat, which can grow up to 3 feet long, to detect land mines. The group, which works in Tanzania and Mozambique, is also training the rats to smell the bacteria that causes tuberculosis to determine if someone could be suffering from the disease. More...
Don't miss:
- Four thousand people in Mumbai applied for a job as a rat-catcher...
- Once every 50 years, a region in north India is attacked by an army of rats!!!
- Former Khmer Rouge child soldier clears land-mines with bare hands...
- Cluster bombs, and the countries that refuse to ban them...
- School evacuated after pupil brings in 'WWI hand grenade'
No comments:
Post a Comment