Glow-in-the-dark plant lights up opportunities
If the world’s farmers ever wished they had some way of knowing exactly when their crops needed water, they’re about to get it.
Students at Singapore Polytechnic have announced they have created a plant that can inform people when it’s thirsty — by glowing in the dark, according to Yahoo News.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the students claimed that they have genetically modified a plant using a “green fluorescent marker” gene borrowed from jellyfish. Once equipped with this new genetic marvel, the plant now “lights up” as a result of the stress caused by dehydration.
Can you imagine the possibilities? Farmers all across the central plains could soon be rudely awakened at midnight by a host of bright-green lights. Obviously, the crops are thirsty. If a drought hits, every crop-growing region in the nation is going to look like a black-light poster.
Of course, this new breakthrough won’t just be convenient. If the gene is introduced to every plant in the country, we’re in for some pretty amazing stuff. I can imagine a few things glowing plants could do for mankind that wouldn’t result in increased irritation.
Think of it: get enough plants and our vaulted electric-lighting systems will become obsolete. Christmas trees won’t need lights. That bowl of fruit on the counter will light up the whole kitchen. The lavender plant in the window will supplant the night light. You’ll be able to nab that trophy buck in the dark. Forget night vision, you can get him while he stands in front of that glowing green pine. With lake bottom weeds lit up like fiber-optic cable, people will catch trophy walleyes in no time.
There is a Sequoia tree in California’s Yosemite National Park. Its name is General Sherman, and it is about 2,150 years old, just less than 275-feet high and more than 100 feet in circumference at its base. According to the National Park Service, it’s the world’s largest tree (by volume). I suggest cloning it a few hundred times, introducing the glow gene into the tree’s DNA and planting Sherman’s offspring along America’s coastline. In a few short centuries, we won’t need lighthouses anymore.
If your headlights go out, don’t sweat it. Go to an Asian market, buy a couple huge mushrooms, cut off the stalks, super glue them over your headlights and you’re set for the darkest of nights.
On the other hand, if your taillights go out, you’ll have to buy at least two-dozen roses.
If this genetic modification catches on, there are certainly some changes in order.
Who knows what applications genetic technology has in store for the human race in the future? The wonders of this new century are, like the plants, just blossoming.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum