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The Buzzing Sentries How Bees Became Bomb Detectors | 12am News
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0:03
in AC quiet laboratory at Los Alamos
0:05
National Laboratory New Mexico an
0:08
unusual group of recruits buz with
0:12
anticipation honeybees Nature's skilled
0:16
pollinators were about to become the new
0:18
entries for National
0:20
Security Dr Timothy Harmon the chief
0:24
investigator of the stealthy insect
0:26
sensor project had made a revolutionary
0:29
discovery
0:30
these bees could sniff out
0:33
bombs it was a well-known fact among
0:36
entomologists that honeybees had an
0:39
exceptional sense of smell they could be
0:42
trained to identify a myriad of
0:45
scents but what startled the scientific
0:48
Community was the position with which
0:51
these bees could detect the dangerous
0:53
explosive tatp a compound commonly
0:57
associated with terrorist threats the
1:00
training methodology was surprisingly
1:03
simple Harmon's team would offer bees a
1:06
concussion of sugar water combined with
1:09
the scent of an
1:11
explosive over time as the bees
1:14
Associated the scent with the sweet
1:16
reward they'd stick out their pises
1:19
whenever they detected the scent in just
1:23
two to three hours a group of 50 bees
1:26
would be fully trained but these bees
1:29
were not just accurate they were
1:31
incredibly sensitive Robert Wingo a
1:34
chemist working alongside Harmon pointed
1:37
out that these bees could detect
1:40
explosives traces that even the most
1:43
advanced lab instruments failed to sense
1:46
to add to the bee's impressive resume
1:49
they could detect these explosives even
1:52
when masked by Common Sense like lotions
1:55
tobacco and even MTAR oil Jerry bmen sh
2:00
a seasoned researcher from the
2:02
University of Montana had previously
2:04
trained bees for different detection
2:07
tasks like identifying meth labs and
2:10
locating diseased individuals unlike
2:13
Harmon's contained bees Brahman shins
2:16
bees were free Flyers roaming Bast
2:19
areas when these bees identified a
2:22
Target scent they circled around it and
2:25
their flight patterns analyzed using
2:28
sophisticated systems would reveal the
2:30
most probable location of the target
2:34
substance however while Brahman shank's
2:37
method was effective over large areas
2:39
Harmon's bees in a box approach was
2:42
ideal for controlled environments
2:45
imagine the chaos of releasing free
2:47
flying bees in an airport as fascinating
2:50
as these natural detectors were
2:52
challenges
2:54
persisted Jim tumlinson an entomologist
2:57
from Pennsylvania State University
3:00
raised a valid concern while bees
3:02
performed exceptionally in controlled
3:05
environments real world conditions posed
3:08
unpredictable variables he believed in
3:11
studying these natural systems and
3:14
developing bioinspired mechanical
3:16
sensors like those mimicking insect
3:20
antas but Harmon was undeterred he had
3:23
already conducted successful field
3:25
trials and envisioned robots carrying
3:28
these trained bees onto battlefields
3:31
these robots upon reaching suspicious
3:34
areas would release the bees near
3:36
potential threats like
3:38
IEDs if a bee stuck out its tongue it
3:42
signaled danger nearby though Harmon's
3:45
Innovative approach aimed to protect
3:47
countless lives it came with its own set
3:50
of challenges contained bees had a short
3:53
life span surviving only about 2 days
3:57
and not every bee was a star student
3:59
some were more Adept at the task than
4:03
others however the loss of bees was a
4:06
somber
4:07
reality as a beekeeper himself Harmon
4:11
admitted his emotional struggle with the
4:13
loss of these buzzing Heroes despite the
4:16
challenges and hundreds of stings
4:18
endured during the research phase wingo
4:21
and Harmon's commitment never wavered
4:24
the promise of using bees Nature's very
4:27
own creation as bump detectors offered
4:30
hope for a safer world
4:35
[Music]
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