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 ...
When I said “tomorrow and the next day,” I was being literal.
Yes I am, and I have been there at least once, but that was a long time ago. Never saw any trains, but it was winter and we stayed indoors.
Thanks!
Yes, I know. And so was I! LOL!
I’m almost ready to crash and burn, so I’ll say goodnight, now.
See ya...
I hope you feel much, MUCH better tomorrow.
We're in that dark blue part. You all can place your bets on whether the Olde Deere will start tomorrow when I attempt to dig out.
Looking further south NNB gets the famous freezing mix and Tax Chick gets rain..
Good luck. My brother seems to be in a medium-blue part of PA. We’ve had another couple of inches of rain since 5:00 p.m. Bill the Son paddled over to eat a free meal, use the color printer, and pick up some mail for his sister. Now DP has gone off in the high-clearance vehicle to get the teenaged boys from youth group.
I'm sure I'll be fine. I shouldn't have to go out and rescue anybody.
Hope you stay warm, Bob.
I have gloves. And many hats.
Good morning.
Yes, thank you, I do feel much better, and I’m glad because I hate doing laundry when I feel as icky as I felt yesterday. This thing has tried to move to my head, but as usual, the lungs will carry most of it.
I had to order more of the cold teas, because I knew I wouldn’t last a day without them. Hopefully, they will be here tonight. And as it happens, I have enough to get me through today and maybe tomorrow morning. With any luck at all this will be on its way out by then.
What a squeeful, long-haired floof!
“You woke me up for MONDAY??”
Happy Laundry Day! It is presently not raining here. Tom the Son came in about 6:00 a.m. He’s on Spring Break this week. Sally and Pat have Spring Break next week.
We just found out that Vlad will be in the state Geography Bee. (We expected it. He’s very nerdly.) It is, conveniently, taking place at Central Piedmont Community College, uptown branch. Vlad was hoping for a trip to Raleigh, but oh well. I’ll just have to use a compact car for the day, because you can’t park the van at CP uptown.
Good morning, all.
We had plenty of white stuff from Friday to today. Most of what fell Saturday morning was melted off by Saturday night. Most of what fell this morning will be melted off by the time I get home. I’ll still check the car for residuals before it gets cold again tonight.
March is in like a lion, it seems. Or, at least, like a very unhappy kitteh.
Congratulations to Vlad.
I hope you can stay warm and dry today.
Nice trips at a reasonable price. That brewery run sounds very interesting.
To bad the site doesn’t include information about the locomotive though....they’re not really trains guys I guess.
Excellent!
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