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 ...
Good point.
Wow, I haven’t seen him lately.
I could trade him, temporarily perhaps, with Juan Williams. I've been seeing much too much of him recently.
That’s okay, Paul Krugman totally looks like a guinea pig.
2 more hours...
“Two hours to safe minimum distance!”
The cheery AI chimed in happily to tell me that my day was still three levels deep in a zakranian sewer and getting deeper.
“Just let me have the nutribar.” I growled.
“Might I remind you of the perils of deviating from your prescribed dietary regimen, even in times of stress?” the AI was very concerned with my health.
Despite the fact that I had just had a Trakar bouncer toss me from the local bar for “irritating” my lead on my case.
I could still feel the hood ornament from the Alaren HyTrans that had been helpfully parked out front.
Might be able to get some print tags from it out if my right kidney.
Heh.
Could be your forté
I once had an idea for Cthulhu as a PI after mishearing a song lyric as “with a thousand eyes and a good disguise”.
It was horrific.
“Worm” has our hero using bugs as infiltrators, spies, and warriors.
Any bug, every bug, for several blocks around. Not really big on defense, but big in numbers anyway.
The Knight has a thousand eyes...
‘Face says to tell everyone that her internet is still off. She has some choice words to say about her cable/ISP company.
With or without Internet, Happy Monday to all.
I survived the meeting but Friday remained busy.
The noreaster didn’t impact our drive upstate to visit the in-laws but we are glad we got out early. The FDR was closed due to flooding sometime after we passed that way.
And, with Boston’s inevitable win in the World Series, I can cry, “Wait ‘till next year!” (Not that the Mets were anywhere close after the 13th game of the season.)
I, and those around me, survived the fast.
I’m not so great at going back through when I’ve been away for a bit. Was this a planned fast or a “we didn’t have food when we expected to have some” fast?
Either way, I’m glad you survived. Looking at everything between my nose and my toes, I could probably survive a few days of a fast with no problems other than a rumbly in my tumbly.
Happy Monday! I’m glad you had a good trip.
Thanks. And my fall is going well as well, so it's all good.
(I crack me up.)
You really are quite clever.
G’orning. No interwebs?
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