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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: NoCmpromiz

You’ve fasted for 18 years???


481 posted on 10/28/2018 8:12:33 AM PDT by null and void (Don't argue with the keyboard warriors. They know their delusions better than you.)
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To: Silentgypsy

The search might have gone easier if you had used the link I posted. It had a nice write-up on the author, too.


482 posted on 10/28/2018 9:35:34 AM PDT by NicknamedBob (If you can't do something well, you won't do anything good.)
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To: NicknamedBob

I meant the search at my digital library. Duck-duck-go would
have given me alternative spellings.


483 posted on 10/28/2018 9:41:55 AM PDT by Silentgypsy ( “If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.”__Scorpion)
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To: Silentgypsy

I probably still have that book in my collection, but my “search” for it would be — difficult.


484 posted on 10/28/2018 10:59:07 AM PDT by NicknamedBob (If you can't do something well, you won't do anything good.)
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To: null and void

Umm..

Well it IS a great way to loose weight. After a year or two you are no longer aware of hunger pains...


485 posted on 10/28/2018 11:31:36 AM PDT by NoCmpromiz (John 14:6 is a non-pluralistic comment.)
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To: NoCmpromiz

Then all you have to do is lose the loose weight...


486 posted on 10/28/2018 11:34:36 AM PDT by NoCmpromiz (John 14:6 is a non-pluralistic comment.)
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To: NoCmpromiz

8 more hours for a full 96. That’s 5,760 minutes.

Not that I’m counting...


487 posted on 10/28/2018 12:02:22 PM PDT by null and void (Don't argue with the keyboard warriors. They know their delusions better than you.)
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To: null and void

Best wishes, nully. I get dizzy and fall over and hit my head and then do stupid stuff for days.


488 posted on 10/28/2018 2:39:22 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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So cnnpc’s blitzed wolfer is trying to tie legal gun ownership and having “lots of ammo” to being a deranged murderer.


489 posted on 10/28/2018 2:57:27 PM PDT by Darksheare (Those who support liberal "Republicans" summarily support every action by same.)
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To: Darksheare

Of course.

He seemed like a sensible-enough newsreader back in the early 90s.


490 posted on 10/28/2018 3:11:06 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: Tax-chick; Darksheare
"He seemed like a sensible-enough newsreader back in the early 90s"

You know the drill: If you can fake sincerity, you've got it made.

To be fair, though, he could have Post Dramatic Stress Disorder.

.

(Read carefully; I do not misspell words.)

491 posted on 10/28/2018 3:19:38 PM PDT by NicknamedBob (If you can't do something well, you won't do anything good.)
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To: NicknamedBob

PDSD sounds like what Sally has.


492 posted on 10/28/2018 3:23:38 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: Tax-chick

Heck! I can do that without fasting!


493 posted on 10/28/2018 3:44:52 PM PDT by null and void (Don't argue with the keyboard warriors. They know their delusions better than you.)
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To: Silentgypsy

Thanks SG. Am certain that if you set out a piece of your husband’s pecan pie with a note to Santa everything will be grand children


494 posted on 10/28/2018 3:47:26 PM PDT by no-to-illegals (..There is no difference between liberals/rinos/moslems/illegals/lamestream media ...)
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To: Tax-chick

Except for the “P”, I bet...


495 posted on 10/28/2018 3:49:15 PM PDT by null and void (Don't argue with the keyboard warriors. They know their delusions better than you.)
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To: Monkey Face

May another joyful Great Grand be coming your way. Great Grand are double wonderful


496 posted on 10/28/2018 3:50:33 PM PDT by no-to-illegals (..There is no difference between liberals/rinos/moslems/illegals/lamestream media ...)
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To: no-to-illegals

Less than 4 hours to go.


497 posted on 10/28/2018 4:12:13 PM PDT by null and void (Don't argue with the keyboard warriors. They know their delusions better than you.)
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To: Darksheare

Blitzed Wolfturd?


498 posted on 10/28/2018 4:24:50 PM PDT by NoCmpromiz (John 14:6 is a non-pluralistic comment.)
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To: NicknamedBob; Tax-chick

It does appear that he is slowly morphing into a capybara too.
Might be related.


499 posted on 10/28/2018 4:25:14 PM PDT by Darksheare (Those who support liberal "Republicans" summarily support every action by same.)
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To: NoCmpromiz

Da, tovarisch


500 posted on 10/28/2018 4:25:44 PM PDT by Darksheare (Those who support liberal "Republicans" summarily support every action by same.)
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