Re: Cause of Potato Famine & Why Its Coming Back

More | Report Post

Just as relevant as your tossing in names of people uninvolved with ANY of
this...following your lead.

Are you drinking and snorting again?

On 12/30/09, Mike B. wrote:
> 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.
>>>>>>>>>