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Genetic Tempo
breaking the tempo barrier in plants
(kinda like the little shop of horrors -- do not do this with the Venus fly trap.)
There is a trip mechanism in the plant genome that affects the rate of growth. This is already happening in the United States North East due to the new warmth and the high incidents of
carbon-borne dioxides in the atmosphere.
But it may be, and I can almost with some certainty say "is", possible to increase
the growth rate of trees so that they grow at a "visible" rate, about as fast as a second hand moves on a clock. It is possible to genetically alter a hardwood such as the oak to render it harvestable in three months, having attained a height of two hundred feet.
The trip is probably somewhere around the area of the genetics associated
with circadian rhythms. At least that's a good place to start
looking. If you want to get somewhere in a couple of years, you'll need a coordinated
team of a couple of thousand at least. Ten or so researchers each from a couple of
hundred universities should do it.
Copyright (c) 2005 by Paul A. L. Hall. All rights reserved.
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