From: Gina Miller (nanogirl@halcyon.com)
Date: Sun Jul 09 2000 - 15:28:18 MDT
Potatoes have already been designed to glow. (I tried to dig up the link in
my Nanogirl news archives-result: impossible to locate) The green protein
has been used as a marker in research for a long time, if you want to make a
target protein fluorescent, you fuse the gene for the green protein to the
gene for your target protein and you end up with a fluorescent target. (this
green protein comes from a marine organism) This is of course on a smaller
scale, but is now advancing to benefit the general population.
As for as you stated "those who fear an attract of killer tomatoes", I'm not
sure what that means (tomato appeal?). But I did see the movie "Attack of
the Killer Tomatoes" when I was a kid in the theater, and I wasn't truly
frightened. As a matter of fact, I still appreciate, it's aloof, seedy,
cheesy properties and have a link on my more serious (sarcasm) toons site.
http://www.homestead.com/nanoclicks/toons.html
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
http://www.nanoindustries.com
Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com
> I was wondering how long it would take for genetic engineering to move
into the area
> of ornamental plants and apparently it won't take long. A front page
article in today's
> New York Times says that in addition to developing a blue rose, the Scotts
Company
> has developed a grass that is drought resistant, immune to weed killer and
stops growing
> after it reaches a certain height so it needs little mowing. They have
even more ambitious
> plans, there is talk of red, orange, blue and purple grass, and Peter Day,
one of the
> company's scientists says: " You might put a luminescent gene in so that
your grass might
> glow. Or, if your foot stepped on it , it would glow. You could also make
novelty grasses."
> He didn't say what was more novel than glowing multicolored grass but I'd
love to find out.
>
> Jeremy Rifkin and others who fear an attract of killer tomatoes are
certain all this will
> bring an end to western civilization, they've already sabotaged some of
Scotts's test
> plots causing serious damage. Nevertheless my hope is that when people
start to bring
> beautiful plants into their home genetic engineering will shed its
fearsome image.
>
> John K Clark jonkc@att.net
>
>
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