Genetics and the Eucalyptus tree
I've got a story below that's off of the Reuters' science wire. It sparked a few thoughts in me about science and genetics and nature. According to this news item, there's a big push starting to determine the genetics of the Eucalyptus tree. The stated benefits include developing trees that respond better to stressors like salt and aridity as well as improved hardness and density of the wood itself. However they also stress that they aren't going to make any genetic changes to the tree, just catalog the genes. My question is how are you going to reap those benefits without changing the tree? LOL Of course you can't. My point here is that many people are concerned when they hear that an organism is having it's genotype changed yet that's what we've been doing for thousands of years. Dogs used to be wolves. Not anymore. The list of genetically modified critters and plants is long and very advantageous to mankind. We've just been doing it by incest...