Stockholm: Can you imagine living roses being turned into electronic circuits? A team of researchers at the Laboratory for Organic Electronics at Linköping University in Sweden has managed to accomplish just that. So yes, world's first cyborg rose is finally here!


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The team, led by Professor Magnus Berggren, sees several possibilities in the project, including the surveillance and regulation of plant growth, and the potential to tap into photosynthesis as a means of generating power. Berggren also said that this bionic rose could pave the way in harvesting energy from plants without having to kill them.


The steps involved:


  • Firstly, scientists put a synthetic polymer called PEDOT-S into the flower via its stem allowing the plant to draw the polymer up in the same way that it brings up water using its xylem channels.
  • Then, the polymer turns into a wire that conducts electric signals, letting water and essential nutrients to move around the flower.
  • Afterwards, researchers can link the “wires” to the electrolytes inside the flower, thus creating an electrochemical transistor and a digital logic gate, one of the main components of computer systems.