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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.)
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.)
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)
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.)
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.)
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.)
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.)
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)
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.)
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)
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.)
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)
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.)
To: Silentgypsy
Thanks SG. Am certain that if you set out a piece of your husbands 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 ...)
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.)
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 ...)
To: no-to-illegals
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.)
To: Darksheare
498
posted on
10/28/2018 4:24:50 PM PDT
by
NoCmpromiz
(John 14:6 is a non-pluralistic comment.)
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.)
To: NoCmpromiz
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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