Re: Cause of Potato Famine & Why Its Coming Back

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If I was, how in the world does that make me involved in any FEMA trailer
litigation? Are you smoking, again?

On 12/30/09, Deborah wrote:
> 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.
>>>>>>>>