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 ...
I hope you have a good night. I don’t think a cat in your apartment would be fair to the birds.
Good morning.
I had a better night that I thought I would, thanks. But I’m not so sure the day will be as good as yesterday. However, I’ll take it as it comes.
When I checked the email this morning, there was a note from the PBS station about finishing the registration or some such. So I did. And then I thought it would be a good time to check program availability. HAH! I put in a search for Doctor Blake, Father Brown and Midsomer Murders and none of them came up! I’ll try again after my shower.
Oh, yes, you’re right about getting a cat. It wouldn’t be fair to the birds. At some point, the cat would be a cat and the birds may die of a heart attack. No thanks.
Hmmm.
Awww.. what a precious box of floofs!
I didn’t get back to PBS, but I will. I know they have those because I saw commercials for the first two shows.
My Real Brother has a newsletter that he’s been producing for probably 45 years called, “Paranoid Views.” Normally he mails them, but this time he emailed it and I can only read the odd pages. I couldn’t event print more than the first inch of the even pages. So when I write to him today, I’ll ask him to mail it to me.
Computers can be such a nuisance.
Yes, but I’m thinking its the program he used to send it, and not necessarily this one. When I pull up the print program it shows the four pages, but won’t print all of them. Its never done that before. Strange.
It rained off and on during the night and my joints don’t like it. It’s hard to move except for just limited range, so I think I’ll think be staying home today. When the pain limits my movements, I have a tendency to lose my balance. I don’t think I want to fall on someone who’s in the same situation I’m in!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear redhead!
Happy birthday to you!
:bowing:
I hope your day is awesome, and that the delight goes into tomorrow as well!!
:o])
‘Face
<3
No, you certainly don’t want to fall, or experience unsafe driving conditions.
Keeping everybody toasty! Thank you.
Sometimes extra fur is required.
Furry dogs come in handy for so many things!
We saw a gorgeous cream-colored greyhound at Petsmart yesterday, so superior she wouldn’t even look at us.
They are not fluffy.
The rain has stopped for now, and the streets are drying off, but the sky is still overcast. The main street will be dry, I’m sure, but if I’m not stable, I could fall just stepping up the curb from the parking spot to the sidewalk. I’m not interested in that, thanks. I was planning to wear one of the outfits my friends from Alaska gave me, but that will have to wait until the 17, because next week, it will be red and white, in honor of St Valentine’s day.
I’ve been drinking a lot of teas lately, and that means going through the honey, but I hope I have enough to get me through the next month.
And water. I hope the new fridge comes soon, because I’m tired of buying water. I tried making ice cubes the first two weeks I was here and I just had to toss them. The old odors in the fridge and freezer compartments are stronger than baking soda. It took a week for the first boxes to be tossed.
Have you considered a cane, or one of those claw-foot things for stability?
Like the elegant Greyhounds in their elegant sweaters?
No. Not fluffy.
It was warm yesterday afternoon, so she didn’t have a sweater.
Yes, T-c, I have, every time the subject comes up, but: CFIDS/ME doesn’t allow for predictability. A cane becomes an encumbrance when one doesn’t need it for every step. The dizziness and/or imbalance isn’t always present, and there is no indication of when it will hit. CFIDS/ME has close to 65 symptoms and none of them are predictable in onset, duration or severity. Loss of balance and/or dizziness are just two of all of those many symptoms that can’t be foreseen.
I do thank you for your concern, and I love you for caring enough to suggest it.
(I try to deal with it as best I can and when I can’t, I let it run its course because to fight it makes it worse.)
I’m sure the elegance in a sweater would have been a massive selling point!
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