Re: Cause of Potato Famine & Why Its Coming Back

More | Report Post

So you are not related to Daniel B of the same surname?

On 12/30/09, Mike B. wrote:
> I have nothing to do with any of that.
>
> On 12/29/09, Deborah wrote:
>> Oh, the class action over the formaldehyde and FEMA trailers...
>>
>> On 12/29/09, Mike B. wrote:
>>> Which FEMA trailer suit are you referring to?
>>>
>>> On 12/28/09, Deborah wrote:
>>>> sorry, I realize that might be over your head, I just thought
>>>> you'd realize it and have enough sense to let someone else
>>> respond...
>>>>
>>>> Oh, maybe you were responding to Sharon's post rather than mine?
>>>>
>>>> Hey, how did that FEMA trailer suit work out?
>>>>
>>>> On 12/28/09, Mike B. wrote:
>>>>> So......how do you make the leap to the conclusion that the
>>>>> potato famine is coming back?
>>>>>
>>>>> On 12/27/09, Deborah wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Malaria, potato famine pathogen share surprising trait
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/297/malaria-potato-famine-
>>>>> pathogen-share-surprising-trait
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 12/27/09, Sharon wrote:
>>>>>>> http://www.naturalnews.com/027801_potato_famine_crop_failure
>>>>>>> .html
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> (NaturalNews) Researchers have sequenced the genome of the
>>>>>>> fungus responsible for the Great Irish Potato Famine in the
>>>>>>> 1800s, uncovering the reason that the organism continues to
>>>>>>> plague potato farmers to this day.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "This pathogen has an exquisite ability to adapt and
>>>>>>> change, and that's what makes it so dangerous," said lead
>>>>>>> researcher Chad Nusbaum of the Broad Institute in
>>>>>>> Cambridge, Mass.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The organism, known as Phytophthora infestans, is a type of
>>>>>>> water mold that continues to cost potato farmers billions
>>>>>>> of dollars every year. It prefers cool, wet climates and is
>>>>>>> capable of destroying entire fields of potatoes and
>>>>>>> tomatoes within only a few days. In 2003, P. infestans
>>>>>>> destroyed Papua New Guinea's entire potato crop.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The mold evolves resistance to antifungal sprays with
>>>>>>> astonishing speed. In just the last few years, potato
>>>>>>> farmers in the United Kingdom have increased chemical
>>>>>>> spraying by 30 percent in an attempt to hold the organism
>>>>>>> at bay, and the ongoing blight in Ireland has been
>>>>>>> called "the worst in living memory," according to the BBC.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> According to information published in the journal Nature,
>>>>>>> P. infestans' genome is especially large, at least twice as
>>>>>>> long as the genetic code of its closest relatives. Some
>>>>>>> regions of the genome are particularly dense, containing
>>>>>>> many genes in a small area, while others are much less
>>>>>>> dense. It is these gene-light areas that may hold the key
>>>>>>> to the organism's adaptability: more than 700 key genes
>>>>>>> were mapped in these regions, some of them coding for
>>>>>>> attacks on potatoes' immune systems.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "The regions change rapidly over time, acting as a kind of
>>>>>>> incubator to enable the rapid birth and death of genes that
>>>>>>> are key to plant infection," said co-lead author Brian
>>>>>>> Haas. "As a result, these critical genes may be gained and
>>>>>>> lost so rapidly that the hosts simply can't keep up."
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Modern agriculture has exacerbated the problem, said Paul
>>>>>>> Birch of the Scottish Crop Research Institute. Widespread
>>>>>>> application of chemicals encourages pest evolution, while
>>>>>>> genetic standardization of food crops makes them more
>>>>>>> vulnerable to infestation.
>>>>>>>