NASA- and industry-sponsored research aimed at growing plants in
space has led to a device that attacks and destroys airborne
pathogens -- like Anthrax. February 1, 2002: Unseen and
odorless, a cloud of Anthrax spores wafts through an office.
People inside are talking, laughing ... breathing. They have no
idea something is in the air. One yawn, one gasp, one happy
guffaw could be deadly. That's how bioterrorism works. But this
office has a defense: Bolted to the ceiling is a curious flat
box. It's made of metal, about the size of a table-top, and it's
humming softly -- the sound of fans drawing airborne spores
toward it and away from the people. The breeze is gentle but
insistent. Eight cubic feet of air per minute flow into the box.
Above: Anthrax spores, pictured here in a thin section
micrograph, are inactive forms of the bacterium Bacillus
anthracis. Such bacteria can survive for decades inside a
spore's tough protective coating; they become active when
inhaled by humans. [more] "Spores that pass through