Genetically-Enhanced ‘Superplant’ Has The Air-Purifying Powers Of 30 Plants
Plants don’t just add life and color to any space they are in but also come with various health benefits. One, in particular, is their ability to cleanse the air of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
These harmful micro-particles in the air often come from paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, and other building materials. As such, they are usually found in abundance in indoor spaces and can cause headaches, eye and throat discomfort, and, in extreme cases, liver damage and cancer.
However, as VOCs are incredibly tiny, regular purifiers cannot remove them from the air. So, where do we turn to after this? Plants.
Paris startup Neoplants is taking this natural purifier and dialing its capabilities all the way up with its latest genetically-engineered plant, Neo P1. The team started by taking devil’s ivy (pothos vine) and mapping the entire pothos genome as they searched long and hard for the perfect combination of genes that destroyed VOCs.
Eventually, it took them four years before they found the ideal solution. As a result, Neo P1 can now metabolize four types of these pollutants, including formaldehyde, toluene—found in paint thinners—and the carcinogen benzene, which is left behind from wildfire smoke.
This was done by introducing genes from extremophile bacteria that can survive by eating toxic chemicals. According to Inverse, the team also kept in line with FDA standards by ensuring they did not enhance the flora’s ability to grow or resist pesticides.
Neo P1 sits in a special shell, as the company describes it, which allows the maximum amount of airflow into the plant and its microbiome-rich soil to be purified and then sent back out into its environment.
On top of all of this, after its modification, Neo P1 works as well as having 30 plants squashed together in your house. As such, it costs about as much as 30 smaller potted flora with a price of US$179. Though, to be able to breathe true purified clean air, it might just be worth it.
[via Inverse and New York Post, images via Neoplant]
