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 ...
The weather beeber on my phone was causing the discrepancy in times. I removed it and removed the Wi-Fi setting, and the phone is “normal,” if there is such a thing. Except its showing the time zone of the person texting instead of the time zone of the textee.
I went to Walmart because I felt up to it, and found a pair of tights with Day-of-the-Dead skulls on them for $3 and got a FOTL T-shirt (100% cotton) for $4, but no skirts for what I wanted to pay.
And the dresses all have shorter sleeves than I want. The ugly hugh scar from my confrontation with a tub in August of ‘17 shows with short sleeves. I don’t want to spend the days explaining to rude people how I got it. I was taught not to ask about things like that.
There is a lot to be said for living alone. When staying with my niece, that was reinforced.
Good Friday Eve to you! I had to explain that to certain relatives who were related to my late brother. ;o]
I would never ask a person, other than a close family member, how they attained a scar or other mark.
Maybe I’ll have a look at the leggings when I go to Walmart today. I have a cute, red LuLaRoe dress (from The Salvation Army), but it’s too short to wear without something on my legs, this time of year. Would pink leggings make me look like a preschooler? Maybe they’ll have off-white or something.
Kathleen needs shoes again. She destroys them extremely quickly.
That's an excellent point, which I will mention to Frank if the subject comes up again.
If I want a person to do something for me, waking him or up untimely is a poor way to start.
The correct answer is, "Putting some rude idiot in the hospital who was asking me about my scars."
What’s to explain?
(BTW: I saw what you did there ... Good Friday eve)
My Walmart had the skull leggings on the clearance rack, too, but they weren’t my size. I got some in white, which probably won’t stay white for long, but for $3, it doesn’t matter much.
Some people are just rude, and though I don’t mind telling, I think people who ask should be flogged with Emily’s Post.
I have a closet with quite a few LuLaRoe items, but the skirts are all WAY too long. I could cut armholes and use them for dresses if I felt like it. I only have them because my friends from Soldotna bring them to me when they come to the Lower 48. She sells the brand, but ironically, he puts the outfits together for me. :o]
Pink and red aren’t supposed to “go together” but I match them up periodically. It just depends on which end of the spectrum they’re on. The leggings I got have a coral-pink and I just happened to find a coral-pink T-shirt in the men’s section because women’s T’s don’t fit me right. They always have too much room in the hips. GAH!
(I keep telling me that in the next relapse, I won’t correct my horrible grammar, but I never do. Pride, I think. So MUCH to be edited...)
Well, it is! And I didn’t realize I had actually said that until after I had gotten it ready to post. :o]
That's an excellent point, which I will mention to Frank if the subject comes up again.
I read some place that a fool can ask more questions than a wise man can answer. I think that applies to children, as well. :o])
Ping to #5533
Well it looks like the [redacted] has finally been [redacted] and the usual [redacted] are following their [redacted] behaviors.
Can we get on with our [redacted] lives now?
I’m old enough to remember when they used to put [expletive deleted] in there.
Yes, but that was when America as a whole was a much more mature nation and people were serious about being responsible. And expletives were seldom ever used except by thugs. I think I liked that America better. It wasn’t quite as threatening.
Back from picking up Pat at school and a stop at Harris Teeter to get yogurt because Walmart was out of what I wanted.
Now I’m making brownies for Easter dinner at the homeless shelter.
That’s odd...I thought about Sunday being Easter in terms of “what will I wear,” instead of “what will I cook.” (huh)
Time got away from me and I forgot to turn on the mattress pad, so I’m giving it a few more minutes. And now... to check Walmart and Tire Pros and whatever other store might sell car batteries.
We are not, ourselves, going to Easter dinner at the homeless shelter, but some of our parishioners are serving it. Everyone is asked to make desserts and leave them in the church kitchen. At home, I think DP will grill meat.
That reminds me that I need to text Anoreth about coming to dinner Sunday and text my choir about practice Saturday!
I may have an Easter dinner, now that the wind has changed...
;o]
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