Oops . . .

— Hybrid Sons of Tifton 85 —

THE INQUISITR has an article you should check out: “Genetically Modified Grass Begins Releasing Cyanide, Kills Texas Cattle”. Really.  That bears repeating,

“Genetically Modified Grass
   Begins Releasing Cyanide,
   Kills Texas Cattle”

Testing the future . . .

WE USED TO HAVE 23 skidoo; now, we have 23andMe. According to Susan Young at MIT's Technology Review, "Personal Genetics Company Seeks Regulatory Approval", 

23andMe, in which Google has invested $6.5 million, offers a genome analysis test directly to consumers, who can use the product to explore their genetic risk for everything from curly hair to Alzheimer's disease. Although the company isn't disclosing which particular tests it is seeking regulatory approval for, Ashley Gould, vice president for corporate development and chief legal officer, says the tests are medically relevant and examine genetic variants with disease connections that are well supported by scientific research. The company is already working on a second submission, and plans to eventually seek approval for some 100 of its 240 tests.

240 tests. One of 'em's for Neanderthal percentage, even. And genetic science is still in its infancy. We could have this be of  incredible benefit, or we could wind up with Gattaca — or much, much worse, like the "Genetic Slavery" that exists in David Weber's "Honorverse", some 3,000 years from now.  The future sure looks like interesting times, don't it?

Monsanto's superweeds . . .

The corn rootworm.  Photo: Jimmy Smith

"THE BUGS THAT ATE MONSANTO", by Tom Laskawy, at GRIST, is worth checking out. Monsanto's been one of the majors in bringing genetically-modified crops to market, and they've pissed off legions of farmers on both sides of the border. It's been high-tide-and-green-grass for Monsanto, but it seems there's problems . . .

Now that 94 percent of the soy and 70 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. are genetically modified, Monsanto -- one of the companies that dominates the GMO seed market -- might look to some like it's winning. But if we look a little closer, I'd say they're holding on by a thread.

Their current success is due in large part to brilliant marketing. The company's approach was both compelling -- their products were sold as the key to making large-scale farming far simpler and more predictable -- and aggressive: Monsanto made it virtually impossible for most farmers to find conventional seeds for sale in most parts of the country.

• • •

Over the last several years, so-called "superweeds" have grown resistant to the herbicide RoundUp, the companion product that's made Monsanto's herbicide-tolerant (aka RoundUp-Ready) corn, soy, and alfalfa so popular. Those crops were supposed to be the only plants that could withstand being sprayed by the chemical. Oops.

The superweed problem is so bad that farmers in some parts of the country are abandoning thousands of acres because the weeds are so out of control, or dousing the crops with ever more toxic (and expensive) combinations of other herbicides. Thankfully, it's an issue that's getting more and more media attention.

And now Monsanto's other flagship product line, the pesticide-producing "Bt crops," named for the pesticide they are genetically modified to emit, is in trouble.

Go visit to find out more. The site has all sorts of interesting things.

The future is chocolate . . .

IF YOU LOVE CHOCOLATE, listen up: according to Alasdair Wilkins' article in io9, "Newly sequenced chocolate genome reveals the secrets of better candy", the boffins have cracked the cocoa code, and they're starting to tinker . . . it actually might be a good thing, take a minute and check it out.

The chocolate tree genome has just been sequenced, revealing which genes are responsible for turning ordinary cacao crops into the finest chocolate. Now a little careful genetic tweaking could produce tastier, healthier, and more environmentally and economically beneficial chocolate.

BacillaFilla . . .

SOME VERY CLEVER YOUNG FOLKS AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY have developed "BacillaFilla".  It's a genetically-engineered bacteria that repairs the cracks in concrete. According to io9,

BacillaFilla is the kind of biotechnology crossed with materials science that we'll see a lot of in the future. The researchers point out that patching concrete cracks with bacteria is far less environmentally harmful than whipping up a vat of cement. Naturally green, BacillaFilla is an industrial material of the future.