] When June Medford came up with the idea to use tiny weeds ] as weapons in the war against terrorism, she figured most ] people would call it a joke. But the federal government ] didn't laugh. ] ] Now, armed with a half million-dollar grant from the ] Pentagon, the Colorado State University plant biologist ] is trying to genetically engineer Arabidopsis plants to ] change color rapidly if they sense a biological or ] chemical agent. ] ] If her plan works, the technology could be used to turn ] forest evergreens, backyard shrubs or even pond algae ] into sentinels for scientists. One day, everyone in ] America might be able to use a cheap houseplant as an ] early-warning system. It could be the proverbial canary ] in a coal mine for the post-Sept. 11 age. Bugs, weeds, houseplants could join the war on terror |