The Pentagon Wants to Make an Army of Virus-Spreading Insects. Scientists Are Concerned.

.livescience.com ^ | October 5, 2018 12:57pm ET | Brandon Specktor

[BenLurkin]

Pentagon research project called "Insect Allies." Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the project involves using gene-editing techniques like CRISPR to infect insects with modified viruses that could help make America's crops more resilient. If a cornfield were hit by an unexpected drought or suddenly exposed to a pathogen, for example, Insect Allies might deploy an army of aphids carrying a genetically modified virus to slow the corn plant's growth rate.

According to the DARPA website, these "targeted therapies" could take effect in a single growing season, potentially protecting the American crop system from food security threats like disease, flooding, frost and even "threats introduced by state or non-state actors.

… Insect Allies, is less concerned. "Anytime you're developing a new and revolutionary technology, there is that potential for [both offensive and defensive] capability," Bextine told The Washington Post. "But that is not what we are doing. We are delivering positive traits to plants… We want to make sure we ensure food security, because food security is national security in our eyes."

Insect Allies is still in the early stages of development, and at least four U.S. colleges (Boyce Thompson Institute, Penn State University, The Ohio State University and the University of Texas at Austin)have received funding to carry out research. Bextine told The Washington Post that the project recently achieved its first milestone — testing whether an aphid could infect a stalk of corn with a designer virus that caused fluorescence. According to the Washington Post, "the corn glowed."

[Silentgypsy]

Happy Friday, y’all!

[Silentgypsy]

That was a big lol!

[Silentgypsy]

Did you get to spend some time with Autumn? (What a dreamy, lovely name!)

[null and void]

I see a Friday and I want it painted black...

[Silentgypsy]

Can you do “Brown Sugar”?

[null and void]

Sadly, no. I’m a diabetic.

[null and void]

Hmmmm, Autumn and Cedar...

[Tax-chick]

Everyone make sure you wash your hands!

[Tax-chick]

Could be a mouse.

[Monkey Face]

By the time I was six years old, we had moved three times, once to Alaska Territory. I think I was smitten with the Wanderlust then.

[Silentgypsy]

Your granddaughter’s name is Cedar?

[Silentgypsy]

Or, if that were Shannon, a toy she could scream at. (Fluffy, the Stainless Steel Cat, was singing for about half an hour from the direction of the guest bath which is his domain. I finally realized he wasn’t just in very good voice today, he was locked in the office, poor little guy.)

[null and void]

Grand SON.

[Silentgypsy]

Memory’s playing tricks on me. You sure there’s no grandDAUGHTER?

[null and void]

Pretty sure.

[Tax-chick]

Poor Fluffy! Shannon likes to nap on the bath map on hot days.

Jake is showing Drama Queen how to open the refrigerator.

[Darksheare]

That’s similar to what Ceirdwyn looked like as a kitten.
Cute little floof.
Now she’s a slightly bigger princess floof.
Lol

[Tax-chick]

Bill the Son’s cat Talia is a small adult cat, maybe half the size of ours.

[no-to-illegals]

Did have time with the little and young ones. Is becoming more enjoyable each time

[no-to-illegals]

Autumn refused a hand washing. Given two more weeks and she will be eating her fingers if she grows some teeth. Here lately I’ve been so nervous I’ve eaten all my fingers down to the palm. Thankfully the fingers keep growing back. Now if the internal organs will behave as the fingers do I might make it to 90. Handwashing is a good idea though if the fingers will hurry up and grow back so as to hold the soap