Latest Buzz – Bees Sniff Out Explosives

Now I always thought that the buzzing creature was good only for two things – making honey and stinging (for better or worse).

But the ever so innovative Americans have come up with something even more efficient.

Scientists at a US weapons laboratory say they have trained bees to sniff out explosives in a project they say could have far-reaching applications for US homeland security and the Iraq war.

Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico said they trained honeybees to stick out their proboscis — the tube they use to feed on nectar — when they smell explosives in anything from cars and roadside bombs to belts similar to those used by suicide bombers.

Just as we reward our pooches for behaving themselves, the sniffing bees are rewarded as well.

By exposing the insects to the odour of explosives followed by a sugar water reward, researchers said they trained bees to recognise substances ranging from dynamite and C-4 plastic explosives to the Howitzer propellant grains used in improvised explosive devices in Iraq.

Somehow this bit of news reminds of an old Hollywood flick titled “Cats and Dogs”. If things continue in this trend then it wouldn’t take long for such fictional characters to turn into reality.