--- title: Scientists Build a Bionic Plant Better at Absorbing Light description: It absorbs light 30% faster than a normal plant canonical: https://time.com/28341/scientists-build-a-better-faster-bionic-plant/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-18T09:24:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:49:05.253Z article:section: Science og:title: Scientists Build a Bionic Plant Better at Absorbing Light og:description: It absorbs light 30% faster than a normal plant og:url: https://time.com/28341/scientists-build-a-better-faster-bionic-plant/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6933b02985722e94/698685e813c79f8129191149/174452624.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 174452624 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Build a Bionic Plant Better at Absorbing Light twitter:description: It absorbs light 30% faster than a normal plant twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6933b02985722e94/698685e813c79f8129191149/174452624.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Build a Better, Faster Bionic Plant  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Mar 18, 2014 9:24 AM UTC  veins of a leaf veins of a leafMark Mawson—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Mar 18, 2014 9:24 AM UTC A team of MIT scientists have created the world’s first bionic plant. _Popular Mechanics_ [reports](http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/genetics/the-worlds-first-bionic-plant-16604565?click=pm%5Flatest) that researchers threaded carbon nanotubes through the plant’s pores. The breakthrough came when the tubes were brushed with a coating of DNA, which helped them bind to delicate membranes within the leaf. Once outfitted with a mesh of microscopic tubes, the plant could absorb light 30% faster than its naturally selected brethren. Scientists hope the plant could be used to detect explosive chemicals or poisonous gases in the air. No mention on whether it could also star in a popular television series. \[[_Popular Mechanics_](http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/genetics/the-worlds-first-bionic-plant-16604565?click=pm%5Flatest)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/28341/scientists-build-a-better-faster-bionic-plant/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/28341/scientists-build-a-better-faster-bionic-plant/"},"headline":"Scientists Build a Better, Faster Bionic Plant","datePublished":"2014-03-18T09:24:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:49:05.253Z","description":"It absorbs light 30% faster than a normal plant","url":"https://time.com/28341/scientists-build-a-better-faster-bionic-plant/","keywords":["DNA","chemicals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6933b02985722e94/698685e813c79f8129191149/174452624.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6933b02985722e94/698685e813c79f8129191149/174452624.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"174452624","caption":"174452624","creditText":"Mark Mawson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/28341/scientists-build-a-better-faster-bionic-plant/","name":"Scientists Build a Better, Faster Bionic Plant"}}]}] ```