Claiming that they “were not able to control their emotional outburst,” a mob stormed a rice field this month in the Philippines and laid waste to the seedlings growing there. The mob tore down a fence and swarmed onto the field, uprooted the rice shoots, and then buried them under the dirt to ensure they were dead.
I went to the hospital with his family and learned how to give insulin injections and understand blood sugar measurements. One thing I didn’t learn at the time is the amazing biotechnology story behind the tiny bottles of life-saving insulin that showed up in his refrigerator.
Some years ago, walking on a college campus, I had a small pamphlet shoved into my hand. It advertised itself as the “atheist test” and featured a banana on the cover. As my parents and many years of schooling can attest, I am not one to pass up an exam. I opened it up and started reading.
Squirrels are famous for their bushy tails and leaping ability, and it is well known that nuts are their preferred snack. Thanks to genetic engineering, soon squirrels from Florida to Maine could be hiding a nut they haven’t seen in over 60 years: the American chestnut.
Did you know that the average American eats about 16 pounds of apples every year? That number used to be more like 20 pounds back in the 1980s, but the iconic apple has fallen out of vogue. A new genetically engineered version of the fruit has the potential to have people reaching for them more often (especially the sliced version).
On the steps of the Salem, New Jersey, courthouse in 1830, legend has it that a daredevil named Robert Johnson elicited gasps from the crowd when he announced his next trick. Some remarked that he would be dead before morning; others simply watched in horror as he held aloft a small red object.
