3. Scorpion Cabbages
These are cabbages with their own protection system against the pesticides. No longer do they need any attention from the one growing them as far as pest protection is concerned. Using the toxin from Androctonus astralis (a very dangerous scorpion) researchers managed to come up with scorpion cabbages. Claimed to be safe for human consumption, this cabbage has been engineered using the toxin that is effective only against insects and not humans. They altered cabbage so that it grows this toxin on its own as it grows. The only trouble is the mutation of this into something which might prove to be harmful to humans.
2. Donor Pigs
Xeotransplantation is the transplantation of organs across species. The transfer of organs from pigs to humans has been a problem so far since pigs contain an enzyme which human body does not accept. A researcher at the University of Missouri, Randall Prather, has managed to clone four pigs that do not contain this enzyme and has therefore opened the once closed door to pig-human transplantation!
1. Super soldiers
We have all heard about the ‘super soldier’. The once myth and fiction is being converted to reality as you read this. The US defense company DARPA is spending a lot of time and resources into human genome. Their target is to maximize a soldier’s abilities in the war zone. However, there are certain rumors which point towards the work that is being carried out to create zombie super soldiers that would be controlled and used as mere tools in war. Terrifying as it is, but still, for now, let’s just be optimistic and appreciate the new opportunities genetic engineering has opened for us!
