Landmines could be cleared more quickly with a new technique based on nuclear magnetic resonance. Most landmine detectors search for buried metal, but these devices can be inefficient because they also detect rusty nails and shrapnel. The technique developed by Markus Nolte of the University of Darmstadt in Germany and colleagues could solve this problem by detecting the nitrogen in the explosive TNT, which is particularly hard to spot (M Nolte et al 2002 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 35 939).