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 ...
This is true.
We all need more grandchildren, but in my case, it’s G-grandchildren! Can’t get enough, and for all I know, another may be on its way...I’ll have to wait for the holidays.
Afternoon, all. Back from Mecklenburg County Stormwater Management, where we found aquatic macroinvertebrates in buckets of stream water. Traffic was awful getting out of Uptown because Trump is here for a rally, but we circled around the worst of it and were less than ten minutes late to pick Pat up from class.
Next we’re going to church for the Spirituality Committee Evening of Reflection and pizza, salads, and desserts. One of our parishioners is going to speak about walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and another is going to talk about ... I don’t know what, but he’s a really nice man and I’m sure it will be interesting.
Wouldn’t that be exciting!
Will try but, generally, nobody listens to me. People listen to T-c; ask her to put in good word with Santa.
Coincidentally, person who worked in same building before retirement did that walk. Did your speaker mention anyone who wound up in a wheelchair being pushed by other walkers for the last four days of the walk? Seems like you should know when to hold and when to fold sometimes....
That’s odd—my new great-grandson’s mom is Korean and her mom came here from Korea to help her with the baby. Seems like they all treasure each other.
Hopefully, it’s dying out, but my granddaughter-in-law is of mixed Korean/European heritage and was put up for adoption.
I have two beautiful G-G babies by her and one on the way. A boy this time. I have pictures of the eldest on her first birthday, and it was quite a party!
I kept hearing a strange sound but when I looked around in an attempt to localize and identify source and cause the sound would cease. Finally a particularly prolonged instance of the sound directed my attention to the fireplace behind me.
There up on the mantle reposed a large black cat.
Asleep.
And snoring.
‘Tis the very same large black cat that assists me in my daily efforts to resemble a human. His specialty is assisted shaving.
Which he accomplishes by headbutting the elbow.
Of the arm.
Containing the hand.
That holds the razor..
It is a very precise, um, form of guidance.
Our parishioner, who is 65, said she was in excellent health the whole time, and she didn’t mention anyone with serious injuries.
I think it’s pretty flat country at the end, so maybe getting there in a wheelchair would be workable ...
Shannon snores, too.
Super superior.
I like that little stripy face!
Good morning.
No call from Hurricane. Until Chuck calls, I’ll just hang on!
We’re supposed to get up to 80° today, and that makes the temperature spread about 25° between day and night. Typical dessert.
Good morning. High in the 60s here. The rain has stopped.
You actually get a day without rain?
Do you normally have a lot of rain in the fall? I’ve only been there in the spring.
I forgot what you said you had planned for today, except that I think the day will be busy for you.
This is a pretty rainy place overall, although of course some years are wetter and some drier.
I just got back from taking James, Vlad, and Frank to help with Gloria’s garage sale. I have choir practice at 10:00, a Cub Scouts hike at 2:00, and Kathleen will be in a horseback riding exhibition around 4:00.
Meanwhile, DP and Bill are running a 5K race this morning, uptown. He just left. He wanted to take one of the cars instead of the truck, but we don’t know if Sally will need it. She doesn’t like to put her schedule on the calendar because that would be helpful to the organization.
Hmmm...Sally. No schedule on the calendar, no car keys in the hand. (Who SAID that???) *gasp*
My daughter actually sent photos taken while she was in Utah, which surprised me. But I’ll upload them to the 3T slave in a bit.
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