MIT researchers have developed real plants that glow in the dark using a process called Plant Nanobionics. Engineers first embedded nanoparticles into the leaves of a watercress plant, thus causing the plants to give off a dim glow for 3.5-hours. The next step would be to create plants bright enough to illuminate a workspace, and also to transform trees into self-powered streetlights. “The vision is to make a plant that will function as a desk lamp – a lamp that you don’t have to plug in. The light is ultimately powered by the energy metabolism of the plant itself,” said Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. Click here to view the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one of the smartphone awards for 2017.
