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 ...
Yup.
Face is without interwebs today.
Beauteous! Wonder what’s going on in that fuzzy little mind. Inscrutable, thy name is kitteh.
It is in her provider’s best interests to get everyone back online ASAP, or lose market share. Apparently, Gab was shut down this A.M.
Darlin’, it’s the great grandchildren stage of life here!
We still haven't unpacked from our 2008 cross-country move.
This is truly the Undead Thread because, at last I’m ALIVE!!
Two and a half hours on the phone Saturday, with two attempts by Cox to fix the modem remotely. Nada. The last call I made was asking for an appointment “tomorrow morning,” meaning Sunday, between 0800 and 1000.
Sunday morning I waited for either my phone to ring or the Cox truck to show up. Back in the house and called again only to have the Cox robot tell me I have an “appointment for tomorrow, between 8:00 and 10:00 AM.” “Tomorrow” to me meant Sunday morning. “Tomorrow” to the CSR meant today.
So. At 0817 there is a knock on the door. The Cox tech followed closely by a trainee. They were here 25 minutes, and gloriosky! The modem Cox sent to me in August was faulty, and lucky for me, the guy had another one in his truck.
So I’m back in bidness.
Hi, Ganag! It’s good to be back among the Undead!
Excellent!
Hello again!
I’m about to go to Walmart.
I forget what Walmart looks like between trips!
My friends from Alaska are here, and invited me to lunch, but the migraine hasn’t left, and my vision isn’t that good. So hopefully, I’ll sleep well tonight and meet up with them tomorrow.
Thanks! I’ve missed you, too! :o])
God save us from men who have savior complexes.
I hope it works out well.
How does one fix a smashed device remotely?
Well, in my case, after the first 30 minutes on the phone I would have been all "Can you send someone out? Because, somehow or other, it just flew itself out the window and now it's in lots of little pieces."
Along those same lines my little brother was late for a flight so he left his rental in front of the airport (back in the day) and went up to the counter and said, “Here’s the key. Send me the bill. The car’s out front.”
Then she said, “You can’t leave it there.”
He said, “I’m late for my flight so I’m leaving it there. You can add something to my bill if you have to.”
She said, “You can’t leave it there.”
He said, “I bought insurance, right? I’m going to go drop a match in the gas tank. You can have the burned-out husk towed and apply for the insurance.”
She said, “Have a nice flight.”
I just need to be able to drive the seven miles to meet them at the Boulder Station Casino, and drive home. Wednesday, they’re going to St George (he used to live there) but I don’t know how long they will be staying.
They usually go to the oral surgery clinic where my niece, Holly, works. They go back and forth. I’m sure they brought salmon, but I don’t eat it, so they will take my share to give to someone else.
Yes, ArGee, there was the “Can you send someone out?” but there wasn’t an opening, and by the time I was told that, I had to go to bed because that’s when the migraine started.
Full-blown, ugly, all-symptom migraine: flashing lights, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, pain in the right side of my neck, skull and right eye. Not able to function at that point so bed is where I had to go. But the pain kept me up most of the night.
However, I’ll be trying to compose a letter of “suggestion” to Cox and let them know how I feel. Tomorrow. The pain is still with me.
Awesome brother!!! Clever, also!
Last time I flew, they changed my departure gate twice.
The gates were on opposite sides of the airport.
Same here although there is one grandchild on the way I too sense the great stage is about all that’s left. Too bad we only have GREAT left. You, I and everyone here deserve GREAT although we are humble but perfect in every way. It’s so hard to look in the mirror we all get better looking each day .....
At my age I can almost demand the get me and mine to the new gate. One day I’m going to demand a pick me up cart ... I’ll be laughed at and will miss my flight. Oh well maybe security will give me another X-Ray
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