Posted on 10/06/2018 2:02:35 PM PDT by 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Not that hungry, thanks.
Yes, you can’t leave the cats sitting in the basket all wet. They’ll get moldy!
Those kittehs are saying, “OK. How do I get out of this?”
What a funny photo!
Looks like Siamese. So pretty!
Good morning.
Last night I went to bed thoroughly confused. Today has got to be an improvement because nothing got done yesterday. Absolutely nothing was done to facilitate this move.
I got up and realized I forgot to cover the birds yesterday. That makes me feel awful. Bad mommie.
Siamese influence, definitely. I think today will be a better day for you. It is Wednesday.
I don’t think I’ll get much done but maybe it will be enough. I only have today and Friday to get the bulk of the work done this week. Then next week, with luck, I’ll have three days in a row. :o[
It’s probably a good thing I began packing three years ago, because the way things are going, I have only enough time to finish up. So after I sort my pills, I’ll give it heck!
I have my prayer group this morning, followed by taking Pat to school, a trip to the library for our next Percy Jackson audio book, Kathleen’s riding lesson, the Spanish Volunteer Committee meeting, and the Cub Scouts committee meeting.
And dishes and laundry and so on.
What, have we started again?
Oh, well. Happy Wednesday.
I remember what the late Joan Rivers said about why she hated housework. "You make the bed, you do the dishes. Six months later you just have to do it all again!"
At this point, I think I’d trade with you.
But this isn’t getting the field plowed, so I need to harness up the mules and get going.
I just changed the reservation on the truck and car hauler to the 7th. No matter what, I’m not staying here beyond that day.
Monday III, or pre-Friday Eve.
Thank you for beautiful kitteh!
G’orning, y’all!
Good morning. Kathleen moved right along on her phonics lesson this morning. Typically, we have two or three days of struggle, followed by one day with a leap forward. Then, back to struggle.
Whatever it takes.
Pearl Harbor Day is a good day to get out of Honolulu ... er, Dodge ... er, Nevada.
Mirabile dictu and yayyyyy, Kathleen Amelia!
Its as good a day as any to make like a tree and leave!
I’ll get busy packing some of the stuff from the genealogy files as soon as I’ve taken a break to let the morphine work its magic on my back. It will become indispensable in the next 10-15 days, what with packing, loading, cleaning, unloading and unpacking. The last can be done not quite so fast, but I suspect I’ll be very anxious to get my things back into view.
People keep asking if I’m excited. No. It’s not time for that, yet. The excitement will happen when I return to my new apartment after dropping off the U-Haul. THEN I’ll get excited! Christmas stuff!! YAY! Finally, after three years of having it packed!
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