Glowing bacteria offer hope for safe detection of 100m landmines

Team at Israel's Hebrew University test system that uses lasers and modified bacteria to locate buried devices

A team of researchers at an Israeli university has successfully tested a technology using fluorescent bacteria and lasers that could become a safer system for detecting buried landmines.

An estimated 100m landmines are scattered in some 70 countries, a legacy of often long-past conflict, and the devices injure up to 20,000 people a year.