Category: Uncategorized

Apomixis and the Coming Genetic Revolution

Scientists around the world have made incredible strides in the last decade at creating genetically modified plant species that carry genes for everything from faster growth rates to expressing vitamin A and other nutrients that human beings require. But there are critics who point to two drawbacks of these genetically modified species: they are likely to be expensive for farmer in the developing world and there is the risk, however small it may be, that the modified species might accidentally transfer genes to wild species.

Some researchers are tackling this problem head on by trying to find ways to genetically modify plants to carry genes for apomixis. In normal plant reproduction, the female cell only carries half of the chromosomes necessary to produce another plant. The rest of the chromosomes come from pollen. In apomixis, the chromosomes in the female cell never get cut in half — the seed is an exactly clone of the plant.

Since there is no fertilization involved, there is almost no risk of accidental transfer of genes, and since the seeds are an exact copy of the parent plant, there is no need for farmers in the developed world to buy expensive new seed every year. Unlike most hybrids, which are sterile and require such annual outlays, the farmers can simply harvest the seeds from the best plants and then plant those next season.

Although scientists do not yet know how to introduce apoximis to plants, they are making fast progress and could crack the problem in 5 to 10 years. Researchers working at the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement believe they have discovered the gene which is responsible for apomixis and are busy trying to clone it, while Utah State University researchers claim they’ve found a way to create apomixis plants without using genetic modification techniques.

Source:

The next revolution. Andy Coghlan, NewScientist, October 28, 2000.

A Bit Too Immersive for My Taste

You can’t read game reviews these days without running across the word “immersive.” Good games provide “immersive experiences” according to the reviewers, while bad games alternately fail to “immerse the user” in the game.

Electronic Arts wants to take the whole “immersion” thing as far as it can go with Majestic.

I’ve played games for literally dozens of hours straight, but I don’t think I want a computer game calling me on the telephone at strange hours.

Animal Rights Activists Claim Some Persons Left Out of Census

Animal rights activist Sarah Whitman wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer arguing that the 2000 Census missed a significant undercounted class of persons — apes. Whitman is the campaign director for the Great Ape Project’s Census 2001 campaign which aims to count, as she puts it, the “many complex individuals still to be counted, including some 2,000 to 3,000 nonhuman great apes.”

Whitman writes,

Nonhuman great apes — orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas — share the qualities that define “people,” including intelligence, sensitivity, complex social systems and the ability to suffer. Because of these qualities, nonhuman great apes should be formally recognized, protected and respected.

By “formally recognized” Whitman means that chimpanzees should be considered persons with inviolable rights. In New Zealand, The Great Ape Project got surprisingly far in its campaign to have that country’s constitution amended to recognize non-human primates as persons. Whitman and other activists leave out plenty of evidence that non-human primates are very different cognitively from human beings; the activists typically use controversial data gleaned from non-human primates under less-than-rigorous scientific conditions (for example, activists claim that it is a fact that great apes are self-aware, when the evidence for this claim is paltry at best and based largely on unrepeatable experiments with apes who lived most of their lives with human beings).

The goal of the Census 2001, Whitman writes,

…is much more than a headcount. It stands as a challenge to currently accepted practiced and situations imposed upon our fellow great apes.

…Despite their complexities, the law treats nonhuman great apes as things — pieces of property. Sentience, family bonds and community-based lifestyles are ignored as they are subjected to pain, isolation and fear. Even in instances where protective laws apply, the laws can be totally ineffective.

To be sure, the way great apes are treated is often appalling and some institutions do not do enough to comply with the law regarding care and treatment of such animals. But the system as improved dramatically since the 1980s and is on the right track. Meanwhile, although they play a much diminished role in medical research thanks to advances and refinements in techniques, non-human primates are still extremely important in some avenues of medical research such as AIDS/HIV.

Source:

Census isn’t complete until great apes are counted. Sarah Whitman, Seattle Post-Intellignecer, November 5, 2000.

Writers and Publishers Annoyed At Amazon.Com

The other day while ordering some books at Amazon.Com I noticed that the pages describing the books I was interested in also contained a link toward the bottom that I could follow to buy a used copy of the same book. Except for rare exceptions, such as when a book is out of print, I am not interested in used books, but I thought it was a very cool feature that could really help out people with less money or less psychological hangups about used books than me.

According to the Washington Post, this new feature is not going over well with publishers and writers who feel like they’re getting ripped off since they don’t make any money off the sale of used books. Some of the angry commentary against the feature is hilarious.

Author Michael Chabon told the Post,

It’s so irritating. Do they have to put it on the same page? Couldn’t they make it a little harder to find?

Small press publisher and writer Fran Baker said,

I’m not opposed to used bookstores. That’s where you can pick up readers for your new books. But to put a used-book button on the same page as a new title makes no sense. This is bad business for everybody.

It’s simple economics — in highly competitive markets, profits should steadily decline. Welcome to competitive markets, authors and publishers.

The real problem with used books, of course, is that most used books are not in the best condition. You might save $4.50 on a book, but what if it has a left over cigar odor from its previous owner? Yuck.

On the other hand Amazon is also doing this across other product lines and this would make great sense for CDs and DVDs.

Activists May Ask for Re-Count in Massachusetts Greyhound Initiative

Florida is by no means the only state having difficulties with counting ballots. In Boston, Massachusetts, election workers recently discovered 30,000(!) ballots that had simply not been counted. The ballots only affect initiatives, however, and not candidates for elective offices.

Since the initiative to ban greyhound racing in Massachusetts lost by only 65,000 votes, there is some speculation that animal activists might ask for a recount of ballots across the entire state.

The error was discovered when it was realized that in precincts where thousands of people had voted, not a single vote had been cast for any of the ballot initiatives. One explanation being offered is that election officials simply misread the voting machines and didn’t properly record the number of votes for and against each initiative.

A recount would require activists to file at least 1,000 signatures on a petition, unless the margin of defeat for the greyhound initiative turned out to be less than one-half of one percent in which case a recount would be automatic.

Source:

Galvin cites concerns, orders Boston recount. Steve Wilmsen, The Boston Globe, November 10, 2000.