"dna" news and stories

Lots of people love a good piece of sashimi and nigiri sushi, and most of us are willing to pay more for a higher quality fish. The only question is whether or not you're getting what you paid for.

Last week there was an article in the New York Times about two teenage girls and their fish-y experiment. The students got 60 different samples of fish from 4 sushi restaurants and 10 supermarkets and sent them off to a lab in Canada. About 60% of the fish were mislabeled, and in general cheaper fish were masquerading as more expensive fish. Apparently no one knows what red snapper is.

There's a lot more science in the New York Times article, but what's really important is that so many people who should know what fish is what have been selling it under the wrong name. I'm sure that there are some unscrupulous vendors out there willing to make a quick buck, but I prefer to think that it's mainly just people making mistakes. What do you think about possibly paying more for cheaper fish?

Modern science is an amazing thing. Scientists are working on coding the DNA sequences of just about everything, nowadays. You can add cacao to that list.

According to the BBC, the Mars Company, in conjunction with IBM and the US Department of Agriculture, is working on coding the DNA of cacao, which is the tropical tree that we get chocolate from. They're calling it the Cacao Genome Project, and it should take about five years to complete. Some of the aims of the project include finding ways to make the trees more disease resistant and less susceptible to water shortages, as well generally improving crop yields.

One thing about this research project that is particularly admirable is that all of the information will be publicly available as the information comes. Everything they learn will be put into the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture, so researchers all over the world will have access to the information.

In an effort to breed better pork, the USDA will give $10 million to the University of Illinois to obtain a draft sequence of swine genome. The goal of the project is to create DNA-based tools to identify and propagate pigs that are more resistant to disease, breed larger litters and produce leaner meat. It's worth noting that heirloom pork has gained popularity, in part, because it isn't lean. The USDA isn't just seeking leaner pigs, but bigger, meatier pigs in general. The project would also try to identify the ideal climates for different breeds of pig, thereby allowing the animals to grow to their fullest potential. Work is scheduled to end in late 2007--the Chinese year of the pig.

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The FDA is getting ready to approve a new genetically modified salmon which grows twice as fast as normal farm-raised salmon. The trick is altering a gene that controls the production of growth hormones. The company behind the technology is Aqua Bounty, and they say that the modification of the growth hormone does not affect taste or raise any health concerns. What do you think? Are you ready for super big GM salmon on your shelves?

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