Bees, explosively in translation and back

Investigator Daniel Heller [pictured here] alerts us to something peculiar that pertains to a soon-to-be-published study he co-authored. The study is “Peptide secondary structure modulates single-walled carbon nanotube fluorescence as a chaperone sensor for nitroaromatics“, PNAS 2011 : 1005512108v1-6. Heller writes:

“[Someone] seems to have translated an online post about our article into a foreign language and back again, and mis-translated everything.  It even translated MIT to: the Massachusetts Organization of Skill!” The post begins:

Bee Venom Is Worn Toward Make Highly Responsive Volatile Antenna

Not merely perform bees cooperate a crucial position into farming, which pollinate the plants, but now it seems they can help prevent it from blowing. Researchers at the Massachusetts Organization of Skill showed to bombolitins which be fragments of proteins establish into bee poison, be able to be worn toward notice solitary molecules of aromatic nitro explosives such since TNT. If it is used in sensors in places such while airfield these antenna would exist greatly additional responsive than persons now into utilize….

Heller says: “It seems to be a direct un-translation of this post” from Gizmag:

Bee venom used to create ultra-sensitive explosives sensor

Not only do bees play a vital role in agriculture by pollinating plants, but it now turns out that they may help keep us from getting blown up. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have shown that bombolitins, which are protein fragments found in bee venom, can be used to detect single molecules of nitro-aromatic explosives such as TNT. If used in sensors at locations such as airports, those sensors would be much more sensitive than those currently in use….

NOTE: “The Technology Review“, the organization doing that  oddly creative copying, should of course not be confused with MIT’s own magazine called Technology Review. The original Technology Review — the one without the The — publishes material that its own people write, and does not habitually translate that writing from one language into another and then back again.