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 ...
I agree with that assessment completely. It has been my position all along.
I encountered what I thought were two idiots about a month ago. Shortly thereafter, I realized the first one was probably not an idiot, just a thief.
You mean there is a difference? :o0
lol
With a wapper. How else?
I’m very happy you found us on this third Monday/pre-Friday Eve! Something wonderful to look forward to in another week of Mondays!
And for me, ArGee, it is, still morning! So you’re good! ;o])
Darn, I walked right into that.
I hate when I do that! But I have some notes on it, if someone wants to write a book... ;o]
For what it’s worth, the heat came on this morning.
The Foreguestimators have upped the ‘freeze watch’ to a ‘freeze warning’ and issued similar notifications for tomorrow night. That means visiting my minigarden plot for a mass harvest. There are quite a few peppers to grab (both sweet and jalapeno) and a few tomatoes to get inside to finish their color change. The tomatoes really did not do well this year (and getting pruned by bambi teeth didn’t help them much either.)
The radishes I can pull up since they have mostly gone to seed and are too woody now to consider them edible - I just haven’t done so yet because it was one of those things I could do ‘tomorrow’. They will make a nice addition to the compost pile. Then I need to assess my late planting of carrots and determine if there is anything there to harvest. When I planted them I knew a lot would depend on when that first killing freeze hit. I’d consider covering them at night but that doesn’t help much if the temps regularly dip to freezing and below. By Sunday they are projecting lows in the 20’s..
I lowered the storm windows in our bedroom before I came downstairs today. Still more to lower both up and downstairs. And of course since the heat came on now I really must trek to the basement and check the level in the oil tank.
Wonder how long before I have to call out the Olde Deere..
Good morning. The temperature reached 68 in the house last night, with windows open. What a pleasant change! I need to find out how to keep the furnace from coming on. With the old thermostat, you had to manually switch from a/c to heat, but this one is Smarter. Hopefully it’s smart enough to understand that I don’t want the furnace on, even though the temperature is 68.
A couple of nights ago, NOAA issued a hard freeze warning for the entire Wasatch Front, so there were massive parts of the state in blues, darker being colder. I had forgotten how cold it got in Utah Valley.
Now that I have the Payson Chronicle Online, I can get lots of cold news about my hometown.
That is a thing about Utah: cold in winter.
The thermostat in this place is adjusted by touch. Pressing the Down arrow will drop it, of course. I’d never seen one until I moved into this apartment.
What a pretty little floof!
Good morning. Officially.
While I was having my breathing treatment, I noticed water stains on the tiles that had been covered by the bed. I hope those aren’t too hard to clean up. Obviously from the days we had actual water for the lawns. They’re all straw, now.
The gal with the parakeets, of whom no one has heard from, sent me a text last night that she had been ill but would bring the birds to me today at 1300. If she has an address.
I had just told my daughter not to pay the gal, and presto, she sent a text. I wasn’t sleeping all that well anyway but 2210? Dang. I heard the alert and I thought, “This better be good!”
So you’ll either see the parakeets or not.
Good morning. I have to go to Walmart today: Pat needs a jacket.
Yes, I’ll text her around 0800 and give her the address, and suggest she calls if she gets confused. Lots of drivers do that, not realizing this complex has two streets, one that ends in a circle (where my building is) and one that is a dead end. The construction is in the dead end side.
Even more confusing is that these streets have names, but the mailing address in on a main street that heads for the freeway on one end (this one) and a golf course on the other. And of course, people are using GPS instead of maps so they’re bound to be confused.
I understand about Pat needing a jacket. They can’t seem to stay the same size, no matter what. I may have to dig out my winter jacket soon. Either that or wear a couple of hoodies over my thermal tops.
Well, it's a good thing 'that' wasn't a wapper.
LOL!
Drama Queen has an acting-class performance this morning. She’s playing Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter. I reminded her that she needs to keep her tone treacly, not snappy like her grandmother and me.
We had the heat on last night. I’m not sure how cold it was purported to be outside the walls.
Happy Friday Eve, everyone.
We have a ven-duh coming in for a day’s worth of meetings.
I’d bail, but it’s my project so I may not add to the festivities again until it’s actually Friday.
Haz a good dai!
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