I notice Mr. Gibson has also found out about the bananas. It's a very odd word, don't you think. That's what happens when Englishmen try to spell foreign sounds. I digress.

Most species of banana are Triploidal, as a result of some ancient genetic accident, and propagate basically by cloning in the wame way your mother propagates plants with 'cuttings'. Or mine does, anyway. They somehow managed to get three sets of chromosomes in the nucleus at once, which has made it sexually sterile, and basically taken it out of the evolutionary arms race, hence it's current plight.

It's only because human beings propagate the offshoots that the species survives, like a snapshot in time. Consider that for a moment.

There are still many species of wild banana, but in line with the common stupidity of out age, much has been lost. They are still Diploidal, capable of reproduction through the normal ways involving birds and bees. So the wild bananas still thrive in forgotten places, resistant to all kinds of things that are killing the cavendish, like The Rot, a cure for which would be, in every sense of the word, Priceless.

So, of course, a group has hastily sequenced the genome of one strain, and will be patenting chunks of it's genes any day now.

This is so not the point, but it's the necessary background. The point is that banana's have now been sequenced first, not rice like we thought.

The point is this. Genomes are like hardware platforms, like Operating Systems. Once people get used to messing around with one infinitely complex system, they like to stick with it. First it will be resistance to something pointless, then something useful, then something incredible, at which point a whole lot of biotechnicians will have a banana greenhouse out the back, and no room for bloody corn or rice beds either, thank you.

There's a lot of people talking about putting vaccines or medicinal genes into bananas, and thereby solving a lot of Africa's problems. They clearly need it.

But now think longer term. Assume we basically re-invent the banana species, with the red ones high in vitamin-C and calcium, and the blue ones which cure AIDS. We make them strong and hardy, with perfectly sized jucy fingers of sweet choco-banana goodness.

And if you don't like bananas, well, sux to be you.

The point is that this technology will easily survive the destruction of the society which creates it. It's not like microwave ovens, or cars, which depend on a complex web of industries to keep them repaired. Any decent post- apocalyptic world would love to have a few miracle fruits and vegies around to keep the survivors hale and healthy.

That's not the point either. The point is actually about Kill Switches.

See, it's gonna work like this. Someone will say "but what happens if this banana is so advanced that it grows out of control like a marauding triffid?"

To which the answer will be "Then, we will just put in a 'kill switch' gene so that a simple pesticide or ordinary household product will stop it in it's tracks."

My point is this. Kill switches sound neat, but they are an astoundingly bad idea. Engineering a self-destruct into any product is stupid, because it can accidentally go off. And if you put it into an organism, you will be shocked how fast Nature's process of evolution will find it. Parasites, virii, you name it. A few decades, and you'll have a new rot which will lay waste to anything that contains the killer gene. And anything it bred with.

Imagine simultaneous failures of all the GM crops using the same kill switch gene.

We manufacture obsolesence into our existing consumer technologies. Let's just not do it with our biotechnology. Think about the long term.

Just more friendly advice for a young civlization.

l8tr.

Next time; I'll be explaining why experimenting with singularities inside your own gravity well is a very, very bad idea.

~ Orinoco

[This message was edited by Orinoco on January 19, 2003 at 05:49 AM.]

[This message was edited by Orinoco on January 19, 2003 at 05:50 AM.]

Damn song. Prophetic? Bananas are very important part of the diet in most "underdeveloped" countries, if they are wiped out there would be
famine all over.Think about something like Ireland during the potato blight this time around all over Latin America and Africa and you get an idea of the scale of the problem.
Even worse. At least the blight ended after a few years, we are talking EXTICTION here.

Ok,

thanks for clearing that up.

--
Tim

There are wild banana species out there.

Isn't some of the concern about bananas going extinct misguided for just that reason?

So, maybe our chiquitas will look different in the future. That was bound to be true anyway, as soon as we finish inserting enough toxin genes into them that no self-respecting insect will eat the things.

Yeah, barring some bananna pandemic, there's several species that have plenty of seeds.

Orinoco said:

"See, it's gonna work like this. Someone will say 'but what happens if this banana is so advanced that it grows out of control like a marauding triffid?'

To which the answer will be 'Then, we will just put in a 'kill switch' gene so that a simple pesticide or ordinary household product will stop it in it's tracks.' "

Interesting point about the kill switch, I agree that we shouldn't over tinker. So what's to be done to stop your GM bannas from taking over - like Kudzoo's done in Mississippi?

Well, everyone knew kudzu was an out of control mad grower when they imported it. That's why they brought it over, to reinforce railroad track berms with their root system. I don't think bananas grow at the same sort of rate as kudzu, though, does it?

I honestly believe this whole genetic tinkering will bring a huge disaster sooner than later. On one hand, errors and shortsightness from researchers, and on the other, the complex interaction of these products in the field. And that's besides pondering the issues of copyrights, "killer crops", and local customs.
Organic (as opposed to nanotech) grey goo, anyone?