This is an interesting proposal though I'm not sure it'll come to much. It's an awful lot more complex than any of the commercial GM plants, requiring a number of genes spread across multiple cells all of which need to be switched on at the right time and place, plus structural changes to the plant leaves whose genetic roots apparently aren't understood: https://c4rice.com/the-science/engineering-photosynthesis-wh...
Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
11–20 of 22 posts
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually that is an area the Gates Foundation is active in: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development...
From your link: >> Invest in New Contraceptive Methods >> Some women do not access or use contraceptives for a variety of reasons, even when they want to avoid pregnancy. They may have misconceptions about their risk of becoming pregnant, or be deterred by the cost, inconvenience, or concerns about side effects. ... " The Gates Foundation is paying for "a reformulation of Pfizer’s Depo-Provera® (medroxyprogesterone a…
> I suspect that the Depo Provera injections at about age 20 is what turned my friend into a drug addict
Have you considered that post hoc is not necessarily proper hoc.
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
From your link: >> Invest in New Contraceptive Methods >> Some women do not access or use contraceptives for a variety of reasons, even when they want to avoid pregnancy. They may have misconceptions about their risk of becoming pregnant, or be deterred by the cost, inconvenience, or concerns about side effects. ... " The Gates Foundation is paying for "a reformulation of Pfizer’s Depo-Provera® (medroxyprogesterone a…
> I suspect that the Depo Provera injections at about age 20 is what turned my friend into a drug addict Have you considered that post hoc is not necessarily proper hoc.
> Have you considered that post hoc is not necessarily proper hoc.
Disruption of the endocrine glands is on the drug safety information [1]:
Effects on the Hypothalmic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis
Some patients receiving medroxyprogesterone acetate may
exhibit suppressed adrenal function. Medroxyprogesterone
acetate may have cortisol-like glucocorticoid activity
and provide negative feedback to the hypothalamus or
pituitary. This may result in decreased plasma cortisol
levels, decreased cortisol secretion, and low plasma ACTH
levels. The use of DEPO-PROVERA Sterile Aqueous
Suspension may, due to its cortisol-like glucocorticoid
activity, also produce Cushingoid symptoms such as weight
gain, edema/fluid retention, and facial swelling.
edit: p.s. Thanks for commenting, I'd never looked at Depo Provera's safety information before. Someone else had said that he thought that Depot-Provera's FDA approval, in spite of what's known about it, is a good example of 'Regulatory Capture'. Psychosis is associated with cortisol deficiency [2], so this safety information strongly supports my theory about the origin of my friend's mental health struggles.
[2] https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2016/june/stress-hormon...
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#14Reminds me of golden rice. It was created to solve nutritional deficiencies in about the same populations, but didn't succeed. I hope this initiative does.
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#15land that currently provides enough rice to feed 27 people will need to support 43 by 2050
Honest question: can't we assume that, as population grows, people will just plant more rice?
Sure this cannot be done everywhere, but there's surely some arable land somewhere that can grow, and maybe technology can help in other ways than by manipulating the genome of plants.
For instance, if we had cheap energy or a very efficient desalinating tech, we could desalinate ocean water and cultivate normal rice where there are deserts now...
In France farmers are complaining that the prices of farm products are too low and it sounds like there are many places where we produce way too much for too few consumers.
Instead of playing god to reduce a risk in 2050, can't we try right now to find economical, political, or technical ways to take the surplus from one place and bring it to places where food is already dramatically lacking?
EDIT: formatting
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#16land that currently provides enough rice to feed 27 people will need to support 43 by 2050 Honest question: can't we assume that, as population grows, people will just plant more rice? Sure this cannot be done everywhere, but there's surely some arable land somewhere that can grow, and maybe technology can help in other ways than by manipulating the genome of plants. For instance, if we had cheap energy or a very eff…
Why wouldn't you want to do both?
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#17This is an interesting proposal though I'm not sure it'll come to much. It's an awful lot more complex than any of the commercial GM plants, requiring a number of genes spread across multiple cells all of which need to be switched on at the right time and place, plus structural changes to the plant leaves whose genetic roots apparently aren't understood: https://c4rice.com/the-science/engineering-photosynthesis-wh...
I agree. The researchers are aware of the challenge. There is so much we don't know about the C4 pathway and then to somehow successfully merge parts of it into a C3 plant. It might be easier to develop a C4 plant that can thrive in a rice-centric environment.
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#18land that currently provides enough rice to feed 27 people will need to support 43 by 2050 Honest question: can't we assume that, as population grows, people will just plant more rice? Sure this cannot be done everywhere, but there's surely some arable land somewhere that can grow, and maybe technology can help in other ways than by manipulating the genome of plants. For instance, if we had cheap energy or a very eff…
Sure we can! Which rainforest do you want to cut down to make space for the new fields?
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you think that the majority of meat consumption is conspicuous consumption?
I think a lot of it if force of habit combined with the externalities of meat production not being reflected in the price of meat, making it cheaper to buy than it is in terms of overall cost. Meat consumption is a cultural element as well as a dietary one.
I agree that habit is a big driver. I don't see how that makes it conspicuous consumption.
Re: Introduction of C4 traits into rice to increase photosynthetic efficiency
#20Reminds me of golden rice. It was created to solve nutritional deficiencies in about the same populations, but didn't succeed. I hope this initiative does.
Golden Rice isn't a failure, it just hasn't yet been deployed at a large scale. The folks working on it have been making a lot of progress, but it's been slow. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rice#Golden_Rice_2)
Sadly, part of the reason why it's been delayed is due to fearmongering by groups like Greenpeace who are ideologically opposed to genetic engineering.