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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

Good idea, only I’ll have Tom the Brother take her to Baskin Robbins when he gets home from school. Kathleen got a gift card from OldTax-lady for her Birthday Observed.


4,681 posted on 03/18/2019 10:31:06 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Destroying history will not make you feel good about the present." ~ Victor Davis Hanson)
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To: ArGee

If there are no Mondays in Heaven , and we only get them once a week, that means that somewhere there could be a stock pile of Mondays.


4,682 posted on 03/18/2019 10:40:32 AM PDT by moose07 (DMCS (Dit Me Cong San ) Forward to the glorious world of next Tuesday !)
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To: Tax-chick
⭐🐆!!!!
4,683 posted on 03/18/2019 10:44:38 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: Tax-chick; Monkey Face; Silentgypsy

An Announcement follows:

Ladies, there are two new episodes of Midsomer Murders out in the wild.
Just thought you might like a heads up.

They have more twisting turns than you can shake a stick at.


4,684 posted on 03/18/2019 10:46:56 AM PDT by moose07 (DMCS (Dit Me Cong San ) Forward to the glorious world of next Tuesday !)
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To: Tax-chick; Silentgypsy; ArGee
Also, there are many other books about animals at the same reading level in the set “Backyard Animals.” I will check them all out next time we’re at the library.

Apparently the high cost of higher education has lead to this:

It's never too early to start saving for college.

4,685 posted on 03/18/2019 10:53:59 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: moose07

Then that leaves... someplace very warm where Mondays must be suffered. ;o]


4,686 posted on 03/18/2019 10:54:36 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Menu ~~ Seven course Irish Meal: Six Pints and a potato.)
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To: moose07

I cannot get Midsomer Murders, here, so I guess I’ll have to rent some at the library. Unless Netflix has them...they want me to join again. I would if I could keep politics out of it...


4,687 posted on 03/18/2019 10:57:18 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Menu ~~ Seven course Irish Meal: Six Pints and a potato.)
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To: moose07; ArGee
"If there are no Mondays in Heaven , and we only get them once a week, that means that somewhere there could be a stock pile of Mondays."

My dad always figured that any place with an escalator must have a really big attic, or a really big basement.

4,688 posted on 03/18/2019 11:09:04 AM PDT by NicknamedBob (If you can't do something well, you won't do anything good.)
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To: ArGee
..there won’t be Mondays in heaven. Will there?

If there are it won't matter..

4,689 posted on 03/18/2019 11:36:16 AM PDT by NoCmpromiz (John 14:6 is a non-pluralistic comment.)
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To: moose07

Sounds like something I should do as an indulgence.


4,690 posted on 03/18/2019 12:56:20 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("Destroying history will not make you feel good about the present." ~ Victor Davis Hanson)
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To: Tax-chick

Late to the party but, “Yayyyyy, Kathleen!”


4,691 posted on 03/19/2019 12:15:18 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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To: Monkey Face; All

I have a few laundry conundrums (conundra) myself. Everyone, please feel free to correct me. I’d appreciate it! Thx!


4,692 posted on 03/19/2019 12:19:42 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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To: moose07

Thank you, Mr. moose,
After having binge watched “Downton Abbey,” I’m thrilled to have a new escape!


4,693 posted on 03/19/2019 12:57:43 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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To: Covenantor

We are so blessed to live in God’s country.


4,694 posted on 03/19/2019 1:06:59 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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To: Covenantor

Heh! If I hadn’t received a couple of scholarships and admission to a college that only accepted the top 5-10% of their high school class, I would have been doing something else for a living.


4,695 posted on 03/19/2019 1:11:24 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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To: Covenantor

Heh! If I hadn’t received a couple of scholarships and admission to a college that only accepted the top 5-10% of their high school class, I would have been doing something else for a living.


4,696 posted on 03/19/2019 1:11:24 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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To: Silentgypsy

I just read an interesting book about the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, whose family home was used in filming “Downton Abbey.” The Earl was the co-discoverer of King Tut’s tomb, and the Countess was the illegitimate daughter of Alfred de Rothschild.

There were some elements of the Carnarvons’ lives used in the show.


4,697 posted on 03/19/2019 2:58:28 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Destroying history will not make you feel good about the present." ~ Victor Davis Hanson)
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To: Tax-chick; fanfan; ColdOne; Cyber Liberty; null and void; Anoreth; Monkey Face; ...

4,698 posted on 03/19/2019 2:59:51 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Destroying history will not make you feel good about the present." ~ Victor Davis Hanson)
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To: Silentgypsy; moose07

“Downton Abbey” is a special sort of saga, don’t you think? A little like “Roots,” but with white folks. (Oh, golly! Who said that??)

“Midsomer Murders” was on every Monday morning, in Henderson, so I watched it while I was sorting clothes. I guess I’ll have to rent at the library. Otherwise, I’ll never get my fix.


4,699 posted on 03/19/2019 3:11:22 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Menu ~~ Seven course Irish Meal: Six Pints and a potato.)
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To: Tax-chick

Thank you for precious kitteh! Have a great day!


4,700 posted on 03/19/2019 3:12:25 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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