Scientists have designed a transparent soil that helps them study all the other little things usually obscured by dirt.
The new soil allows 3-D imaging of roots and the microbes that colonize them – collectively known as the rhizosphere -- helping scientists better combat soil pathogens that threaten the food supply.
The clear soil is made of a synthetic polymer called Nafion, which is often used in batteries and fuel cells because it can conduct electricity. Nafion particles are opaque and slightly reflective, but in the presence of a water-based solution, they become clear.
"If we understand better the contamination route, then we can develop strategies to limit the transfer of E. coli to the food chain," Dupuy says. "We don't really understand how E. coli enters the food chain, particularly for fresh produce."
The work was published in PLOS ONE earlier this month.
[Via Discover Magazine]
Image from PLOS ONE
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com