Biotech Plants Help Clean the Environment

Most people think of plant biotechnology as it relates to agriculture. Your first thoughts may be of farmers benefiting from increased yields of corn, soybean or cotton. The first environmental benefits that come to mind may include reduced pesticide applications, less soil tillage and reductions in associated fossil-fuel use. But in addition to reducing the environmental footprint of agricultural crops, scientists are working to bolster other plants' natural abilities to rid the environment of unwanted materials. Phytoremediation uses plants to remove, transfer, stabilize and destroy environmental contaminants. As plants take in water and other nutrients through their roots, they remove harmful chemicals from the soil. Trees are particularly adept at phytoremediation because their roots grow much more deeply into the soil than other plants.1 Once toxins are absorbed by a tree, they are either internalized or broken down into less harmful substances. The internalized chemicals may settle above ground within the trunk, branches or leaves, or remain below ground in the roots. The tree can transform contaminants into less toxic substances before storing or releasing them, or microscopic bugs that associate with the tree's roots may transform the toxins into less harmful substances. Several steps can prevent phytoremediating trees from reintroducing internalized toxins back into the ground or water. Collecting and incinerating discarded leaves guards against soil recontamination. Energy producers may burn harvested trees, and, depending on the nature of the accumulated toxins, pulp or paper manufacturers may use the trees..... Whole article: "www.whybiotech.com":[ http://www.whybiotech.com/index.asp?id=5566]

---

Related articles

Palm oil doesn't have to be bad for the environment - As traditionally practiced in southeast Asia, oil palm cultivation is responsible for widespread deforestation that reduces biodiversity, degrades important ecological services, worsens climate change, and traps workers in inequitable conditions sometimes analogous to slavery (10.4.2007)

New biofuels process promises to meet all US transportation needs - Purdue University chemical engineers have proposed a new environmentally friendly process for producing liquid fuels from plant matter - or biomass - potentially available from agricultural and forest waste, providing all of the fuel needed for "the entire U (16.3.2007)

Can Biotech and Organic Crops Coexist? - Can biotech and organic crops coexist without biotech material finding its way into organic plants, compromising their economic value? What practices do farmers follow to maintain the integrity of organic and genetically enhanced crops? Coexistence: A Familiar Challenge for Farmers The issue of coexistence predates the introduction of biotechnology (21.2.2007)

Global biotech crop cultivation continues to grow: why is Europe so far - Marc Van Montagu, one of the best known plant biotech pioneers in Europe, is convinced that technology transfer and plant biotechnology research oriented to the needs of the developing countries are important: "Fighting the vicious circle of hunger and poverty is the most urgent task that faces our society, and will require a reformulation of current models of agriculture," he said (30.1.2007)

Application of micro and nanotechnologies in systems for the rapid detection of pesticides and pathogens - The III Hispano-French Conference on micro and nanotechnologies was held recently in Donostia-San Sebastián, one of the participants being AZTI- Tecnalia which presented part of its research carried out within the framework of the European GOODFOOD - Food Safety and Quality Monitoring with Microsystems programme Being involved as it is in the field of micro and nanotechnologies, AZTI-Tecnalia is currently taking part in the validation of microsystems for their application in foodstuffs, collaborating in the development of improvements in the “BIO” detection system (9.1.2007)