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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: Silentgypsy; fanfan; ColdOne; Cyber Liberty; null and void; Tax-chick; Anoreth; Monkey Face; ...

701 posted on 11/05/2018 2:18:34 AM PST by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: Tax-chick

Such a pretty kitteh for an otherwise ugly Monday!

Good morning. Congratulations to Elen and congratulations to Mom and Dad for encouraging another fledgling to learn to fly on her own! Good job, all of you!


702 posted on 11/05/2018 2:30:36 AM PST by Monkey Face (The Lord did not make it easy but he did make it possible. ~~ Dallin H Oaks ~~)
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To: NoCmpromiz

W00t!

Good snag on that 00!


703 posted on 11/05/2018 2:31:26 AM PST by Monkey Face (The Lord did not make it easy but he did make it possible. ~~ Dallin H Oaks ~~)
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To: Monkey Face

Another view of kitteh, because Monday.

704 posted on 11/05/2018 3:03:34 AM PST by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: Tax-chick

Thank you! So pretty! I love the tiger-stripes. Although that one seems to have them lengthwise rather than crosswise. And it looks like two extra ears just above the eyes! LOL!

I will go and do Monday things. The laundry won’t be so bad this time, but its still Monday.

As an aside to that, I was telling the Senior Rep that the only time I came into the clubhouse was to pay rent, and she asked, “Not even to wash clothes?” I said no, I quit doing my laundry here when I could no longer get into the clubhouse at 0300 to do the wash then. Instead I began going to the laundromat.

Her ears perked up at that. She gleaned every ounce of info she could from me on Wednesday, and later, that day, we got notice of a “mandatory” meeting on Friday. Imagine my non-surprise when there was a schedule attached to the Agenda, stating the times the buses would go to and from the laundromat, and that people could sign up, as the bus could only take so many people and their (stinky) clothes. Wednesday only, first bus at 0900, last at 1030.

The clubhouse will be closed as of Friday until further notice, for renovation. No laundry room. Instead, all apartments will have hook-ups for stackable W/D combos.

I want out of here!!


705 posted on 11/05/2018 3:27:27 AM PST by Monkey Face (The Lord did not make it easy but he did make it possible. ~~ Dallin H Oaks ~~)
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To: Monkey Face

My mother has a stackable w/d in her apartment. She’s hated it since they moved in. Even after the condo association put in new ones, she still hates them.

Good luck on your laundry! I have to put a load in the dryer when I get upstairs. It rained onto Jake’s bed - and his purple plush blanket - during the night, so I’m washing the blanket. He will be briefly fond of me when I put the blanket back, warm and smelling faintly of flowers.


706 posted on 11/05/2018 4:11:13 AM PST by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: Tax-chick

Got my assignment, will be a poll worker tomorrow!


707 posted on 11/05/2018 4:27:43 AM PST by null and void (Leftards don't know what 12000 illegal aliens marching thru Mexico know - America's a Great country!)
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To: null and void

I hope you have a good time and meet some fun people. A couple of people on my street are poll officials in every election.


708 posted on 11/05/2018 4:29:37 AM PST by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: Tax-chick

Thanks! I’m now in the demographic to be a poll worker...


709 posted on 11/05/2018 4:37:58 AM PST by null and void (Leftards don't know what 12000 illegal aliens marching thru Mexico know - America's a Great country!)
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To: null and void; Tax-chick; Monkey Face

710 posted on 11/05/2018 4:42:44 AM PST by Covenantor (Men are ruled...by liars who refuse them news, and by fools who cannot govern. " Chesterton)
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To: Covenantor

One of our neighbors had a halloween party. To mark their door, they put out a dog bed with a dog skeleton sitting in it.

It was a little too close to the death of our dog.

This one isn’t quite so bad.


711 posted on 11/05/2018 5:24:12 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: Darksheare

Close enough.

Those free hippies aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, anyway.


712 posted on 11/05/2018 5:24:45 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: Tax-chick; Monkey Face; Silentgypsy; NoCmpromiz; moose07; null and void; NicknamedBob; ...

Well, here we are again.

You’d think we’d learn.

Say, if people outside the borders of our fair country have constitutional rights to asylum, don’t we have constitutional rights to a monday-less week?

Ah, well. Mappy Hunday


713 posted on 11/05/2018 5:27:47 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: null and void

I probably could be, in 2020. DP could work at home for one day.


714 posted on 11/05/2018 5:30:11 AM PST by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: ArGee

You’d only ruin Tuesday if you took away Monday.


715 posted on 11/05/2018 5:30:39 AM PST by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: Monkey Face; Tax-chick
This fledgling didn't just learn to fly. It learned to kick tuckus and take monikers.


716 posted on 11/05/2018 5:30:47 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: null and void

Polls open at 0600. I’ll be in line. I need to leave work early so I can’t vote after. And, therefore ...


717 posted on 11/05/2018 5:32:19 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: ArGee; Monkey Face

Quite so. Elen has set a high bar for being “tough enough,” although I’m still tops in the civilian division.

Great feathers there. Elen is very fond of birds.


718 posted on 11/05/2018 5:33:25 AM PST by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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To: Tax-chick

Well, it could be worse.

One of my cow-irkers sent a note in on Friday that he would be 30 minutes late because he had awoken thinking it was Saturday.

I don’t think words can express the stinkage.


719 posted on 11/05/2018 5:33:42 AM PST by ArGee (I trust people with freedom more than I trust government with power.)
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To: ArGee; null and void

I’ll probably hit the poll in the pre-lunchtime window, 10:30-ish.


720 posted on 11/05/2018 5:34:34 AM PST by Tax-chick ("Kindness and truth shall meet." Ps. 85:10)
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