genetically modified organisms Archives

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The U.S.’s defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA said that it began a program designed to genetically modify living organisms into surviving on planet Mara and eventually terraform it.

Past projects of colonizing Mars involved sending robotic crafts to Red Planet to set up bases that scientists can later use it, and this time the engineers plan to turn the barren and cold world into sustainable environment for human life to thrive.

Living and performing experiments from close environments or with the astronaut suit on seem not to satisfy the Pentagon. Spokesperson from DARPA said that while terraforming the planet may be lengthy and expensive process it is no longer a Sci-Fi story.

Alicia Jackson from the Biological Technologies Office at the Pentagon’s DARPA said, “For the first time, we have the technological toolkit to transform not just hostile places here on Earth, but to go into space not just to visit, but to stay.”

DARPA researchers hope that current technology may allow them to transform the harsh, isolated world into a more Earth-like planet.

Genetically modified organisms they plan to ship off to Mars must be different from anything we are accustomed with. They must survive extreme temperatures that can reach up to minus 100 degrees F or minus 73 degrees at the equator, the thin atmosphere which is composed of carbon dioxide, low gravitation and lack of liquid water.

But the researchers at DARPA are not easily discouraged as they say the plants and algae they would genetically modify would be able to warm up the planet and even change its atmosphere and hydrological system.

And terraformation does just that, it deliberately modifies a planet’s harsh environment to allow humans to live it.

Ms. Jackson said that DARPA has access to the Google Maps of genomes, which is a huge database of genetic material gathered from hundreds of thousands of living organisms found on Earth. The database allows researchers to quickly find a gene and combine it with a set of other genes to create brand new life forms that can thrive in the Martin landscape.

DARPA before sending those organisms to Mars plans to first test them on Earth in locations that no human can survive. Researchers had been thinking about releasing them in places damaged by natural or human-made disasters to see if they truly are able restore the sites to pre-disaster conditions.

Taking inspirations from the well-known “USDA organic” label, Republican members in the US House have proposed a new government certification for foods that don’t contain ingredients for genetically modified items.

This is seen as an attempt to block compulsory food labeling including the genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., who will introduce a bill in this regard on Wednesday, said that the certification would be a voluntary one.

According to Pompeo, food labeling under government certification would allow the food companies to easily advertise their products as GMO-free, but it would not be mandatory for others.

“We’re perfectly happy to have folks to understand if there’s GMOs or not in their food. It is simply not the case that you can have affordable food that is safe and 1,000 different rules,” Pompeo said.

The food industry has welcomed Pompeo’s bill, but has taken tough stance against the individual state efforts requiring food labeling, saying such labels would prove to be misleading as GMOs are safe. Any state laws requiring the labeling would be override by the bill.

Under the proposed bill, the Department of Agriculture would oversee the certification as done with organics.

The bill will also step up the review of genetically modified foods by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Currently, food firms must comply with the guidance underlined by the federal authority in case they wish to claim their foods are free of genetically modified ingredients.

DARPA to use genetically modify organisms to terraform Mars

Bill proposes creation of organic-type labels for non-modified foods

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