WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Trudging through a thick, muggy jungle, the 
soldier remains cool, her body temperature precisely controlled by her 
uniform. 


Incapable of seeing more than 10 feet ahead, she is guided through an 
earpiece in her helmet by someone at base camp who can trace her because a 
biomarker was in a nutrition bar she ate earlier. 


Breaking the jungle silence, an alarm in her wristwatch goes off, detecting 
the presence of a toxic chemical agent. The visor on her helmet drops down, 
and the uniform that monitors her vital signs administers the drugs necessary 
to keep her safe and enable her to complete her mission. 


It's science fiction so far. But a study performed for the Army says 
advancements in biotechnology may soon turn such fiction into fact. 

The study was conducted by 16 leading academic and industry scientists from 
across the country. The study predicts how biotechnology will develop over 
the next 25 years and highlights areas that might benefit the Army. 


The ideas in the study range from genetically engineered foods that don't 
spoil and provide added nutrition to uniforms that can detect and treat 
wounds, preventing blood loss and infection. 


James Valdes, a scientific adviser at the Army Soldier and Biological 
Chemical Command in Maryland, said over the past five years the Army has 
started forming more partnerships with industry and academic labs to keep 
abreast of developments in biotechnology. 


``Big companies don't want to make the kind of stuff we need because the 
profit margins aren't there,'' Valdes said. ``So we have to sort of very 
selectively go after the research areas that are uniquely applicable to the 
Department of Defense.'' 


Such areas include: creating lightweight materials to reduce the load of the 
current soldier's roughly 90-pound rucksack; coating helmets with substances 
that absorb solar energy to power in-field computers; and developing systems 
that make fuel using plants or even food wrappers and used cloth. 


Foods that are digested easier could also be developed, and even laced with 
compounds called biomarkers that would allow a soldier to be tracked by 
satellite, according to the report. The biomarkers could also be used to spot 
American troops and avoid ``friendly fire'' accidents. 


Rashid Bashir, a Purdue University researcher not involved in the study, is 
developing one-centimeter-square sensor chips that could someday help 
soldiers detect chemical hazards on the battlefield. The sensors, which could 
fit in a wristwatch, are basically micro-laboratories that analyze particles 
in the air. 


Bashir said his work shows that the technology described in the study is not 
far-fetched. 


``I think most of these things are in the five- to 10-year time frame,'' 
Bashir said. ``Many are in the idea stages, but others have already proven 
their feasibility.''