The method is based on a reliable and accurate measurement of the level of photosynthesis of aquatic plants using a special microphone ■ Headed by the development team: Prof. Zvi Dubinsky and Dr. Yulia Panchasov from the Faculty of Life Sciences in Bar Ilan
We all know (or at least believe...) that the drinking water in Israel is regularly checked for contamination and a decrease in quality. A study conducted in recent years by a team of scientists at the Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar Ilan University, has yielded a revolutionary development of a new and effective method that can help measure and detect impurities in water using sound.
The method, developed in Prof. Dubinsky's laboratory as part of Yulia Pankhasov's doctoral thesis, is actually based on analyzing the rate of photosynthesis (the process of turning sunlight into energy in plants) of the plants growing in the tested water. As part of the method, the researchers check whether the plant exhausts its maximum rate of photosynthesis. A plant that fails to do so indicates that something is not right in its growing environment. With the new method developed by Dubinsky and Panchasov, it is possible to locate the factor that prevents the plant from growing and to identify the problematic substance in the water, by means of the sound it releases into the water.
איך זה עובד?
The researchers project a green laser pulse onto the tested plant. A plant that does not exhaust its photosynthetic capacity will use part of the laser light, turn this part into energy and the rest will turn into heat. This heat causes the water to expand and create a pressure change, which is a sound wave for everything picked up by the hydrophone - a special marine microphone. From the amount of light energy that turns into heat and sound, the researchers can easily calculate the balance absorbed by the plant, and learn about its condition.
A plant suffering from lead poisoning, such as that emitted from battery and paint factories that usually discharge their effluents into water bodies, will produce a different resonance than a plant suffering from a lack of iron or from a healthy plant. In this way, the method enables early detection of the penetration of pollutants and toxins that harm plants and animals.
"The method came to replace older measurement methods that were used until today, such as marking the plant's growing medium with radioactive carbon or measuring the amount of oxygen emitted by the plant. The new method is more effective in identifying the polluting agent and its rate than the previous techniques and is even able to give a more accurate answer to the question 'Is your plant happy?'" explained the researchers.
The research was published in several scientific journals including the prestigious magazine "Hydrobiology" (vol. 579).
6 תגובות
Where can I find an article about alga voices to track water pollution in English?
Thanks
To me
The seller of this matter from the reserves is a lot of those who started to do serious photosynthesis after the battle rations.
It sounds interesting what genius minds exist here
Wow, well done.
It sounds like an innovative development that could make a real revolution in the field. And in light of the fact that the world is adopting green trends, technologies of the above type have tremendous potential.
*More
Zvi Dubinsky, my teacher and Rabbi, the man who taught me everything I know today about science.
I had the opportunity to hear a little about my situation and her thoughts on the method during Yulia's PhD work. The idea is interesting and if it is indeed possible to see wave patterns that are characteristic of the zahum type - then there is a real breakthrough here.
As someone who had the privilege of working in Zvi Dubinsky's laboratory for a little while, I would like to point out that this is one of the genius minds in the world who contributed a great deal to the understanding of photosynthetic processes and to a wide range of scientific questions.
Much respect and appreciation to Professor Dubinsky and Dr. Yulia Pankhasov.
Ami Bachar