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 ...
Great! There goes the rest of my afternoon. I’ll be yawning in all my remaining meetings.
Have a Diet Coke.
Reading is fun! Diet anything drinks taste like they have no taste!
Well, the ‘gator I saw back in 1991 (a small 4 footer) was enough to make an architect happy (not really, yet.. actually the 12 foot+ one I thought was a log, while fishing in Homestead AFB that my cork hit on the head and started moving to me made me drop my 6-pack and fishing pole and run faster than Owens Olympic record was def a vid moment, which we didn’t have the technology back then :p)... (BTW, that same day, Pres. Bush (41) had just landed to play golf on the AFB :p (had secret service chasing us around for hours ;D
If I’m not mistaken, TOL opted out of the ping list. We were sad to see her go, but things happen.
Very sad to see :/
Correct, she said she was getting swamped with pings among other things.
Actually is seems TOL opted out of more than the ping list. The last post recorded from her was way back in the middle of January this year then silence. I’ve pinged her a couple of times over the interim but got no response.
Alligator, crocodile - what difference at this point does it make? (to borrow a phrase from a well documented but un-indicted criminal)
Once it’s in the purse most folks can’t tell...
McNamara’s morons?
Well, most people don’t think much of reptiles at all.
Seems somewhere along the line she mentioned there was an illness. I don’t know what, and refused to ask, just thanked her for her kindness to me. Two years ago? Eighteen months? No se’.
And now, I’m going to recline for the duration.
See all y’all later! (Like, tomorrow morning!)
Obama knew how to destroy America.
His real father (John 8:44) taught him well.
I have ‘731’ saved on the DVR. Just saw it on the list a couple nights ago. Need to watch it again.
Just thought I’d offer.
They actually made a movie about it?! I will have to track it down..
Beautiful markings on this kitty!!!!
Thank you. The poster claims it’s a Bengal, and it may even be one, or at least a mix.
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