在日常生活中，有些人总是喜欢和自己养的植物聊上几句。新加坡的一些大学生日前表示，他们已经培育出了一种可以与主人进行交流的植物。当植物感觉“口渴”时，就会通过发光的方式将这一信息传达给主人。

    据路透社3月7日报道，新加坡新加坡理工学院的学生3月7日表示，他们已经对一棵植物进行了基因方面的改造。具体做法是将一种从水母体内提取的可令物体发出绿色荧光基因转移到该植物内。这样植物在缺水“口渴”时会立即变得“闪闪发光”。不过人们很难用肉眼直接看到这种光线，但运用这些学生与新加坡南洋理工大学的学生共同研制的一种光学感应装置便可看到植物是否发光。

    报道说，这一技术将有助于农民提高对庄稼的灌溉效率。

    Some people like to talk to their plants. Now, students at Singapore Polytechnic say they have created a plant that can communicate with people -- by glowing when it needs water.

    The students said on Tuesday that they have genetically modified a plant using a green fluorescent marker gene from jellyfish, so that it "lights up" when it is stressed as a result of dehydration.

    The light is hard to detect with the naked eye but can be seen using an optical sensor developed in collaboration with students at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

    The development of such plants could help farmers to develop more efficient irrigation of crops.