Aresa Biodetection was a biotechnology firm based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

which is best known for genetically modifying a common weed to indicate the presence of

land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

s. The company created a

thale cress ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land. A winter a ...

whose leaves turn brown in the presence of nitrogen dioxide, a compound which is leached into the soil by unexploded land mines. Previously identification of land mines was done by probing or by metal detectors. Use of these plants as indicators significantly reduces the risks to humans and animals who have previously probed the soil to locate mines and finds mines in plastic housings that cannot be found with metal detectors. In 2008 Aresa Biodetection announced it had stopped further development of genetically engineered thale cress. In 2009, Aresa Biodetection had no sales and only one employee.Aresa Biodetection ApS
Largest Companies - top 100,000 in the Nordic countries, Retrieved 11 September 2012

References

{{Genetic engineering Biotechnology companies of Denmark Companies based in Hørsholm Municipality