Coming to a store near you: GMO plants with synthetic biology that makes them glow

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: GMO plants, genes, DNA

(NaturalNews) A team of researchers from Stanford University in California wants you to donate your hard-earned money to them so they can continue to develop an unapproved genetically-modified (GM) plant that literally glows to generate light. The so-called "Glowing Plant Project" has already raised nearly half a million dollars from the online Kickstarter program, and researchers involved with the project hope to continue pulling in the dollars so they can one day unleash the technology on the commercial scale.

Originally hatched using what many are now referring to as "synthetic biology," the GM glowing plant contains genes that have been artificially spliced from other species. In this case, fireflies and certain bacteria that glow are the sources from which the DNA strands that generate light were extracted and subsequently injected into the plants. Antony Evans and his team of scientists also reportedly implanted their own synthetic DNA into the mix.

"More recently we have learnt (sic) how to make new sequences of DNA from scratch," explains a section of the team's informational page that addresses the issue of synthetic biology, and the use of completely unnatural DNA. "By combining these techniques with the principles of modern engineering, scientists can now use computers and laboratory chemicals to design organisms that do new things."

Research into bioluminescence originally began back in the mid 1980s, and has since been refined to allow for more and new methods of rapid genetic manipulation. As far as the GM glowing plant is concerned, technologies that combine modern methods of DNA printing with advances in gene compiling have made it more feasible than ever for even amateur scientists to reengineer nature into their own image.

"Our printed DNA will be inserted into a special type of bacteria which can insert its DNA into the plant," adds the Kickstarter site on the "Glowing Plant Project." Flowers of the plant are then dipped into a solution containing the transformed bacteria. The bacteria injects our DNA into the cell nucleus of the flowers which pass it onto their seeds which we can grow until they glow!"

You can watch the somewhat creepy video presentation of the technology here:
http://www.kickstarter.com

Now you, too, can create GMOs from the comfort of your own home!

As you will notice, the Kickstarter page for the Glowing Plant Project, which closely resembles an infomercial - "But wait! If you act now, you will also receive an additional..." - offers special rewards to early supporters of the project. People who donated money to the project early on received gifts such as their own GM glowing plants, for instance, or DNA on a chain, and even the chance to create a DNA message to be inserted into a GM plant.

Also included on the prize list is a "Maker Kit," which allows hobby scientists to create their own GMOs at home with a simple petri dish. No, this is not a joke. The kit apparently contains everything a person needs to "genetically transform" his own plants at home, including an instruction manual, a "vial of Glowing Plant DNA," and even the bacteria and seeds needed to transfer the altered genes.

Yes, folks, this appears to be the dire future of science in America. Grow your own GMOs at home and watch them glow! Never mind that such technology has never been approved as safe, or evaluated for its impact on other plants and species, let alone humans. Nope, just go ahead and rearrange the natural order as you personally see fit - it's fun for the whole family! That is, until the cumulative load of genetic pollution so severely disrupts the natural world that humanity is no longer able to grow its own food and sustain itself. The unrestrained pride of mankind, in other words, will ultimately be the downfall of humanity.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.kickstarter.com

http://www.fastcoexist.com

http://news.yahoo.com