Two-stage gas sensor reports on soil dynamics
(PHYSorg.com Chemistry)

A gene `genie` developed by Rice University scientists grants researchers valuable data about microbes through puffs of gas from the soil. The latest version is a robust two-stage microbial sensor that will help bioengineers, geobiologists and other researchers observe gene expression and the bioavailability of nutrients in laboratory facsimiles of environments like soil and sediments without disturbing them.