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Technology

Cyborg crickets could chirp at the smell of survivors

By David Hambling

8 July 2009

Âé¶¹´«Ã½. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Modified insects could soon be joining rescue workers in the search for survivors

(Image: KPA/Zuma / Rex Features)

IF YOU’RE trapped under rubble after an earthquake, wondering if you’ll see daylight again, the last thing you need is an insect buzzing around your face. But that insect could save your life, if a scheme funded by the Pentagon comes off.

The project aims to co-opt the way some insects communicate to give early warning of chemical attacks on the battlefield – the equivalent of the “canary in a coal mine”. The researchers behind it say the technology could be put…

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