Spinach can alert environmental changes via emails: Study

Hard to imagine getting rejection mail from spinach? It's possible.

Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a way to send emails from spinach plants with chemical signals. However, this technology is formulated to warn potential environmental changes, not personal emails.

Electronic sensors are placed on the plant using nanotechnology, which will help the spinach roots detect explosive chemicals, nitroaromatics from the underground. The plant then signals the infrared camera, which sends an email alert to the scientists.

According to a study published in the journal Nature Materials in 2016, this technological experiment, also called Plant Nanobionics, includes placing electronic components into plants and making them effective communication systems.

"This is a novel demonstration of how we have overcome the plant-human communication barrier," Michael Strano, lead researcher, told Euronews. He added that plants are very environmentally responsive and can detect small soil and water changes.

Titled "Nitroaromatic detection and infrared communication from wild-type plants using Plant Nanobionics," the study created an uproar on social media with netizens trolling over the idea when Euronews featured it last week.