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The Pentagon Wants to Make an Army of Virus-Spreading Insects. Scientists Are Concerned.
.livescience.com ^ | October 5, 2018 12:57pm ET | Brandon Specktor

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 ...


TOPICS: Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: aphids; boycethompson; cornelluniversity; crispr; darpa; hurricaneutah; insectallies; ithaca; molassesmiasma; monkeyfacerules; newyork; nithaca; ohio; ohiostate; pennstate; pennsylvania; texas; undead; undeadthread; undeadthreadhere; uoftexasataustin; workingdogs
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To: Tax-chick; fanfan; ColdOne; Cyber Liberty; null and void; Anoreth; Monkey Face; ...

4,041 posted on 02/22/2019 2:22:19 AM PST by Tax-chick (They should have listened to Julian Simon.)
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To: Tax-chick

Da Morning Floof is all worn out from working so hard to be cute.

Good morning.

I’m off to the shower, but I’d rather be back in bed watching movies. Or streaming with the Roku. But it has to wait for payday.


4,042 posted on 02/22/2019 2:40:46 AM PST by Monkey Face (If you have half a mind to do something it would be wise to consult the other half before acting.)
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To: Monkey Face

I’ve been watching videos about classical ruins of the Mediterranean. I was just telling DP that it would be much cheaper to send me on a long trip to the less-popular Greek islands than to the Crazy Ladies’ Home.

It rained all night again.


4,043 posted on 02/22/2019 3:07:56 AM PST by Tax-chick (They should have listened to Julian Simon.)
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To: Tax-chick

You could certainly live well over there in The Med, compared to the costs Stateside, what with all the hands out for your income.

I’d like to do that, but the cost of renewing my passport is prohibitive. And I could live a lot better over there, for sure, on my meager income.


4,044 posted on 02/22/2019 3:31:17 AM PST by Monkey Face (If you have half a mind to do something it would be wise to consult the other half before acting.)
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To: Monkey Face

I’m sure we’ll all feel better about everything when the weather improves. We had almost 2” of rain over night.


4,045 posted on 02/22/2019 4:08:22 AM PST by Tax-chick (They should have listened to Julian Simon.)
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To: Tax-chick

We may have had rain, but whatever it was that fell has made the roads very slippery from the looks of things out my door.

I don’t know what the insulation factor in these apartments is but I’m thinking it is over R-19, just because they were built for student housing in Cedar City, then moved down here. All I know is this apartment is much tighter than the one in Hooterville, and sounds from my neighbor don’t carry. What a relief!

I saw a photo on FB this morning of the Luxor in Vegas being covered with snow. The last time it snowed there, I was stuck in Little Rock because McCarran IA has no “snow removal equipment” and had to borrow some from CA. I saved the photo.

Now, I’m going to try and start on the letters because I don’t know how my thought processes are. And by the way: Happy George Washington’s Birthday!


4,046 posted on 02/22/2019 4:45:42 AM PST by Monkey Face (If you have half a mind to do something it would be wise to consult the other half before acting.)
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To: Monkey Face; Tax-chick; ArGee; Darksheare; Silentgypsy; null and void
Hmmm....can't quite decide if this goose-banana chimera is some genetic labs geek's prank or some DARPA project of urban caltrops...it's a slippery slope.


4,047 posted on 02/22/2019 5:00:59 AM PST by Covenantor (Men are ruled...by liars who refuse them news, and by fools who cannot govern. " Chesterton)
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To: Monkey Face

Best wishes to old George W., and good luck with the letters. I need to make a casserole.


4,048 posted on 02/22/2019 5:04:53 AM PST by Tax-chick (They should have listened to Julian Simon.)
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To: Covenantor

This doesn’t look like a good idea to me. What does it eat?


4,049 posted on 02/22/2019 5:21:12 AM PST by Tax-chick (They should have listened to Julian Simon.)
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To: Tax-chick
This doesn’t look like a good idea to me. What does it eat?

Well, if in fact it is a black government project, it eats tax payers dollars....

4,050 posted on 02/22/2019 5:27:20 AM PST by Covenantor (Men are ruled...by liars who refuse them news, and by fools who cannot govern. " Chesterton)
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To: Covenantor

Oh, that’s brilliant! I’ll have to find a way to use it.


4,051 posted on 02/22/2019 5:32:41 AM PST by Tax-chick (They should have listened to Julian Simon.)
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To: Tax-chick; Monkey Face; NicknamedBob; NoCmpromiz; null and void; no-to-illegals; Silentgypsy; ...

Friday!!!!!!!

Considering I was at work until around 9:30 last night I can use one.

Make it a double.


4,052 posted on 02/22/2019 5:52:02 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: ArGee

Will you have a Saturday?


4,053 posted on 02/22/2019 5:53:59 AM PST by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: Covenantor

Is it organic? Is it natural? It looks tasty.

I keep walking by the Peta people in the subway stations who want to ask if I like animals.

Every so often I think I want to stop and say, “It depends how they’re cooked.”

Either that or go off on, “We just made it easy for a woman to kill her baby right up to the moment of birth and you want me to be upset because a shelter might have to off a few cats?????”

But I just walk on.


4,054 posted on 02/22/2019 5:55:08 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: Tax-chick

Saturday is forecast. We’ll see.

I’m recovered enough from my fall to go to the gym. I have no idea whether that will ruin it or not.


4,055 posted on 02/22/2019 5:56:11 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: ArGee

I’m glad you feel better!


4,056 posted on 02/22/2019 6:02:59 AM PST by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: NicknamedBob

Then we should probably scratch that op. When brainstorming, all options are considered. You never know....


4,057 posted on 02/22/2019 8:37:20 AM PST by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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To: Darksheare

I should just have asked you first.


4,058 posted on 02/22/2019 8:39:16 AM PST by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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To: Tax-chick

Thank you for the beautimous kitteh!


4,059 posted on 02/22/2019 8:40:12 AM PST by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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To: Covenantor

That is ingenious! There were calendars available called the “Play with Your Food” series (I think) that had all sorts of cute food art.


4,060 posted on 02/22/2019 8:42:40 AM PST by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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