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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Useful Mutants, Bred With Radiation

Dr. Lagoda, the head of plant breeding and genetics at the International Atomic Energy Agency, prides himself on being a good salesman. It can be a tough act, however, given wide public fears about the dangers of radiation and the risks of genetically manipulated food. His work combines both fields but has nonetheless managed to thrive. The process leaves no residual radiation or other obvious marks of human intervention. It simply creates offspring that exhibit new characteristics. Though poorly known, radiation breeding has produced thousands of useful mutants and a sizable fraction of the world’s crops, Dr. Lagoda said, including varieties of rice, wheat, barley, pears, peas, cotton, peppermint, sunflowers, peanuts, grapefruit, sesame, bananas, cassava and sorghum. More here.

posted by CASFS 2006 @ 9:20 AM

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