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 ...
A whole passel of floofs! So squeeful!
Good morning. Yesterday, I finally realized where most of the cold in here is coming from and this morning, as soon as I’m done with the shower and the bed-making, I will tape some plastic over the swamp cooler vent. It was producing a mini-wind of its own the 36 +/- hours the wind blew around it. The cover on the thing was flapping in the wind, even thought it was tied on with ropes.
Depending on how I feel around 0800, I may go to the DMV, just to get it over with. Now if I can just remember what size Allen wrench I need...
Good morning. I’m organizing the trip to Raleigh. I hope we’ll get underway by 7:30.
Thank you for cutie-pie morning kittehs!
Safe travels!
I’m trying to find things to donate to the yard sale and found a lot of stuffs in my closet! I’m sure I’ll find other stuffs in other closets, so hopefully some of them (a ‘fur’ coat that was given to me by the same woman who gave me the bookcases I needed) and some of the other clothes will bring a good price. There is also a very thick queen-sized bedspread (?) that is just too heavy for me to handle on my own but too expensively nice to toss.
I still have another day, and today is already taken by a couple of things.
I found four pairs of slacks with the tags still on in the size I just got demoted to! Now I can start tossing the ones I’ve been nursing for a couple of winters, trying to make them last until I could afford to buy more. I don’t have to!! LOL!
Happy New Year to you, too, Face. May 2019 bring even more undeadness than 2018.
Er - something like that.
And, Good morning and Happy New Year to all!
This is going to be a good year just because I’m out of NV!
The swamp cooler vent has been covered but I think there will have to be more tape around the perimeter. Just because of the downdraft force.
It looks like a good time to go to Walmart and I think I’ll just drive over to the DMV and see what the facilities look like. I think I put the proper-sized Allen wrench in the little emergency kit in the truck, so I’ll check there before I decide to go in and do what has to be done.
Start the year with a visit to the DMV and the year can only go uphill. It's sort of like that old "swallow a live frog first thing every day' saw.
Nappy You Hear! - but that could get me a charge of racism because nappy is somehow racist.
Yappy Who Near! - but I don’t remember Whos being yappy. Singing, yes, but not yappy.
So I guess I will wish you a Happy New Year! There’s nothing for it.
Nah. I changed my mind. When I drove through town, the marquis at Lonny Boy’s flashed the temp as being 18°. I don’t know what it was at Walmart, but the wind was blowing about 12 mph, and I decided right then and there that this coat, the one I bought in October of 2017 will have to move aside for a heavier one.
Even though I followed the weather here on my phone for 18 months, the reality is a LOT colder! Colder when you experience, even though it may not be by phone standards.
Sound reasoning. What do phones know about cold anyway. They run better when cold.
Truth!
Its warmed up to 33° but I suspect is will cool off before long, so I’m watching my storm glass get really murky.
Holy cats!
Hey, Edith! Break out the grill!
Oh, or did you mean Fahrenheit?
Especially if you're Imus..
Anagram acrimony.
If Reverend Spooner had faced our PC Police we wouldn’t have nearly as much of his work to share.
The wind is up again, and that means the plastic over the swamp cooler vent is fluttering in the breeze. I should probably put that second strip of tape on before the whole thing comes off. I don’t want to go to Walmart again, but I may have to in order to get some Gorilla Tape.
So for now, ‘night!
How nice that you’re finding all these fine things. The trip to Raleigh was a nice as a 3-hour drive each way could possibly be. We saw some museums and went out to lunch. I’m going to bed as soon as I get the next load of laundry on!
Try to stay warm!
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3716960/posts
Slaver incident inbound
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3716960/posts
Slaver incident inbound
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