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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: Monkey Face

Unnngh. Electronics are miserable.


4,461 posted on 03/11/2019 5:11:40 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: Tax-chick; Monkey Face; NicknamedBob; NoCmpromiz; null and void; no-to-illegals; Silentgypsy; ...

Good morning. Happy Monday all.

I hope everyone has gotten over the spring version of clock insanity.


4,462 posted on 03/11/2019 5:32:09 AM PDT by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: ArGee
"I hope everyone has gotten over the spring version of clock insanity."

It has cut back on my oversleeping.

4,463 posted on 03/11/2019 5:52:16 AM PDT by NicknamedBob (If you can't do something well, you won't do anything good.)
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To: NicknamedBob; ArGee

I woke up at the correct time by the current clockage. I was concerned that the coffee wouldn’t be ready, but someone must have reset the clock on the coffee maker.


4,464 posted on 03/11/2019 6:24:51 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: Tax-chick

I’m usually on top of them but this Whatever-I-Have has turned my brain into mint jelly. Or something.

At least I’m not coughing so much.


4,465 posted on 03/11/2019 7:55:40 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Remember whenTrigger was the name of a horse, and not an excuse to relive one's terrible twos?)
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To: ArGee

It takes me almost a month for my body to adjust to Spring Forward. It has no problem with Fall Back, which tell how insane the time change really is.

Happy Monday to you! Only three to go before Friday Eve! ;o]


4,466 posted on 03/11/2019 8:00:21 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Remember whenTrigger was the name of a horse, and not an excuse to relive one's terrible twos?)
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To: Monkey Face

James got himself banned from computer use until Easter. Now he’s staring blankly at the forestry manual and snivelling.


4,467 posted on 03/11/2019 8:02:26 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: Tax-chick

I’m resisting the urge to LOL!!

Some kids snivel like the pros they grow up be. I hope this isn’t a portent of things to come.

I put the recliner up for sale on Hurricane/St George Yard sales, asking $150. Some gal decided she wanted it but didn’t want to pay that. She asked about $100. I said no, but I could do $125. She wanted to pick it up this evening and I told her I have CFIDS and don’t do evenings. She whined that she lived an hour away and couldn’t come in the early morning. I almost told her, to get one from someone who she can dictate to. I suspect I won’t hear from her again.

Now I have to go mail a BD cod to my DiL as her birthday is Sunday. I went to drop it in the mail drop this morning when I went to wash clothes but it was about an inch too wide for the slot.

This must be Monday.


4,468 posted on 03/11/2019 8:27:45 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Remember whenTrigger was the name of a horse, and not an excuse to relive one's terrible twos?)
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To: ArGee; Tax-chick; Monkey Face; null and void; Silentgypsy; moose07

4,469 posted on 03/11/2019 8:32:44 AM PDT 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

You’re sending your daughter-in-law a cod? I know you’re not that fond of her, but dead fish is a little rough!

If you got one person interested in the recliner, I expect you’ll get another.

We’re going to have naps after lunch. I hope we’ll be more energetic tomorrow!


4,470 posted on 03/11/2019 8:51:41 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: Tax-chick

Well, the BD Cod thing goes back a lotta years to when my son sent me a birthday card. I opened it to find “Here’s your birthday cod!” along the side of a fish with a hook in its mouth. ;o]

This person was the second one to ask about the recliner, and neither one of them sounded as if they were serious about buying it. I’d donate it, but I need the money.


4,471 posted on 03/11/2019 9:18:36 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Remember whenTrigger was the name of a horse, and not an excuse to relive one's terrible twos?)
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To: Monkey Face

I hope she enjoys her cod. I went to Walmart for a few things, and now it’s Naptime.


4,472 posted on 03/11/2019 9:48:14 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: Tax-chick

My one Hurricane friend called to see how I was, and was surprised to know I was ill, even though I wasn’t in church the last two Sundays. She said they were going to Walmart and did I want to go. No, thanks.

And what was wrong with me? Well I was sick. With what? Well I don’t know. I think I missed that class.

Now, because I went to the post orifice to drop off the cod, I’m worn out. No bed, yet, though I’d like to.

I had to go back and hook up the TV again because for whatever reason, I can’t hook up the Roku. I’ll wait until my son comes out and take advantage of the fact that I’m a poor ol’ widder woman and he needs to be nice to me. ;o]

The neighbor to my east called to ask me if I would let Snarly Harley out again every day for a week, and I finally told her what he did the last time, and that it probably wasn’t fair to leave him with a person he didn’t know. She was too sick when she got back from wherever she was the last time, for me to tell her that Harley wasn’t an ideal pup. I just told her I understood it and no harm no foul. This time, she’s going to have her PCA take care of him.


4,473 posted on 03/11/2019 11:12:48 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Remember whenTrigger was the name of a horse, and not an excuse to relive one's terrible twos?)
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To: Tax-chick

Seeing a pet peacefully relaxing is relaxing. Thank you.


4,474 posted on 03/11/2019 11:53:24 AM PDT by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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To: Tax-chick; Monkey Face
I hope she enjoys her cod.

I am of the opinion that a mailed cod would be quite fishy by the time it arrived..

Of course if you lived in Massachusetts you could personally delilver the birthday cod by caa..;-)

4,475 posted on 03/11/2019 11:56:00 AM PDT by NoCmpromiz (John 14:6 is a non-pluralistic comment.)
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To: ArGee; Tax-chick; Monkey Face; no-to-illegals; NoCmpromiz; NicknamedBob; Darksheare; moose07; ...

G’daft ernoon, y’all!


4,476 posted on 03/11/2019 12:37:19 PM PDT by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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To: Silentgypsy

You’re welcome. Good afternoon to you! We’ve had some sunshine today.


4,477 posted on 03/11/2019 12:39:10 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: Monkey Face

That sounds like a better plan for Snarly. Maybe you’ll feel more chipper tomorrow. Unfortunately, with your schedule, the time change gives you more waking hours of darkness. Or are you in that bit that doesn’t change?


4,478 posted on 03/11/2019 12:40:52 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Please, SMOD, just make it all go away.)
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To: Covenantor

Lol! My father would have theorized that an eggbeater was his primary hairstyling tool.


4,479 posted on 03/11/2019 1:02:56 PM PDT by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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To: Tax-chick; Monkey Face

The rain finally stopped. We had a couple of tornado watches over the weekend. I feel so bad for those people in Alabama. There’s been a lot of flooding in E TN, and a town to the east of us is recovering from flooding. The structures along the river’s edge have been submerged. Houseboating makes more sense than waterfront structures, but some people feel that it’s worth it to live by the water. The snakes don’t seem to bother them, either. Different priorities.


4,480 posted on 03/11/2019 1:22:43 PM PDT by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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