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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

Good point!


6,261 posted on 05/20/2019 12:40:20 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
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To: NoCmpromiz; ArGee
"I read the contents label and if I remember correctly they used to use that stuff to knock you out."

My starting fluid is black in color and doesn't have a label.

6,262 posted on 05/20/2019 3:01:35 PM PDT by NicknamedBob (If you can't do something well, you won't do anything good.)
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To: NoCmpromiz; Tax-chick; Monkey Face; Silentgypsy; moose07; ArGee; NicknamedBob
Good morning... safety alert...


6,263 posted on 05/21/2019 2:42:54 AM PDT by Covenantor (Men are ruled...by liars who refuse them news, and by fools who cannot govern. " Chesterton)
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To: Tax-chick; fanfan; ColdOne; Cyber Liberty; null and void; Anoreth; Monkey Face; ...

6,264 posted on 05/21/2019 3:26:44 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
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To: Tax-chick

Oooooh—a Pushme Pullyou! It’s been decades....


6,265 posted on 05/21/2019 3:49:00 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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To: Covenantor; ArGee; Tax-chick; Monkey Face; no-to-illegals; NoCmpromiz; NicknamedBob; Darksheare; ...

G’orning, y’all!


6,266 posted on 05/21/2019 3:51:42 AM PDT by Silentgypsy (Call an addiction hotline and say you're hooked on phonics.)
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To: Silentgypsy
Breeders are doing amazing things with felis cattus.
6,267 posted on 05/21/2019 4:03:18 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
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To: Tax-chick

The Morning Floofs are looking very floofy this morning!

Good morning. I was going to get my hair cut Friday, (with the really cheap coupon!) but by the time I pay for everything else, the hair will have to wait. It’s getting way too long. Of course, I could always cut it myself, if my arthritic arm joints could be convinced to stop nagging me!

Almost as soon as I got home yesterday, my phone rang, telling me there had been a cancellation in St George, and could I make it in by 1100? It was 1030 and I was in the middle of a low blood sugar episode, and there was no way I was going to get behind the wheel until it was under control. Which usually takes 20-30 minutes.

I stopped at Walgreen’s to get the morphine prescription I had turned in on Saturday (dated to “do not fill until”) and that would put it on Monday. Did I miss something? Or did someone drop the ball? “We only have 50 tablets, but if you can come back this afternoon, we can have the full prescription.” Am I the only person in Hurricane who is on morphine? If not, then there is no excuse for not having a supply on hand. </rant


6,268 posted on 05/21/2019 4:06:59 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Eat a bullfrog first thing in the morning and nothing worse can happen to you the rest of the day!)
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To: Covenantor

BWAHAHAHA!

Good one! I won’t even ask the ridiculous questions! ;o]


6,269 posted on 05/21/2019 4:08:12 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Eat a bullfrog first thing in the morning and nothing worse can happen to you the rest of the day!)
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To: Monkey Face

At least you have enough energy to rant!

We hiked 12 miles on Saturday. I’m still feeling it a bit.


6,270 posted on 05/21/2019 4:10:15 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
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To: Tax-chick

I have to go to Walmart and get a few food things and then stop at the Sinclair station and get a couple of gallons (edging very close to $4 a gallon, here, tourist mecca that it is, being “The Gateway to Zion Park”) so I have enough to get into St George on Thursday.

That’s the ophthalmologist and I’m excited to finally get there and get an appointment for my left eye. I’m essentially blind in that eye, and its getting harder and harder to focus on the printed word.


6,271 posted on 05/21/2019 4:16:00 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Eat a bullfrog first thing in the morning and nothing worse can happen to you the rest of the day!)
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To: Monkey Face

Sounds like a plan. I have Weight Watchers this morning, and then lots of Life Organizing to do.


6,272 posted on 05/21/2019 4:16:46 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
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To: Tax-chick

You hiked 12 miles??? On one day? No wonder you’re “feeling it a bit.”

I hope you’re able to get the kinks out soon. <3


6,273 posted on 05/21/2019 4:18:05 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Eat a bullfrog first thing in the morning and nothing worse can happen to you the rest of the day!)
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To: Monkey Face

Yep. In the mountains, up and down, up and down. Our youngest participant was 6 years old.


6,274 posted on 05/21/2019 4:21:31 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
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To: Tax-chick; Monkey Face; NicknamedBob; NoCmpromiz; null and void; no-to-illegals; Silentgypsy; ...

Well, it’s Tuesday.

Happy Monday Part Deux, all.


6,275 posted on 05/21/2019 5:30:04 AM PDT by ArGee (Celebrate diversity! Excellence is out.)
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To: ArGee

Yes, Monday Part Deux is a day to be happy on because only one day separates us from Friday Eve!


6,276 posted on 05/21/2019 5:41:44 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Eat a bullfrog first thing in the morning and nothing worse can happen to you the rest of the day!)
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To: ArGee; Monkey Face

Happy post-Monday, all y’all. Back from Weight Watchers, and I’m plowing through a long list of household and Cub Scouts minutiae. At 3:00, I’m going to Paige, Hair Designer, for a haircut.


6,277 posted on 05/21/2019 9:09:39 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
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To: ArGee

Yeahbut...

...just about the time I start wishing stupidity were instantly fatal, I do something stupid. Maybe there oughta be a sliding scale of stupid...

Oh — wait; there is: Natural Consequences have a way of being particularly brutal to the defiantly stupid. And I include “armed conflict” among the panoply of Natural Consequences.


6,278 posted on 05/21/2019 10:30:55 AM PDT by HKMk23 (You ask how to fight an idea? Well, I'll tell you how: with another idea!)
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To: Tax-chick

I’m happy you’ve found someone to cut your hair, the way you like it. And that she is doing a good job. Speaking of hairdressers, have you heard from Jamie?

I’ll have to try to cut my own tomorrow, because I just can’t go with it this long. It’s beginning to look really scraggly while the new growth catches up. Cutting it is the best thing to do. So I’ll try to do it. Like I used to...


6,279 posted on 05/21/2019 11:19:57 AM PDT by Monkey Face (Eat a bullfrog first thing in the morning and nothing worse can happen to you the rest of the day!)
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To: Monkey Face

I haven’t heard from Jamie for a long time. Last I heard, she had moved to Seattle. I could ask Sally; I think they’re in touch on Facebook.


6,280 posted on 05/21/2019 11:23:41 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Be like Kendrick, Brendan, and Riley.)
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