Re: Cause of Potato Famine & Why Its Coming Back
Posted by Deborah on 12/30/09
How were any of your remarks and/or questions relevant to me and this board, Mikey?
Should I call Daniel B and ask him to have a look at this?
Which people are you referring to that I might have a problem with, people like you?
On 12/30/09, Mike B. wrote:
> I didn't ask why it was "relevant". I asked how being related to some lawyer
> makes me somehow involved with his lawsuits? Typical of your hysteria and BS,
> you don't have an answer that makes any sense.
>
> To address your second illogical rant, you obviously have a problem with those
> people, don't you?
>
> On 12/30/09, Deborah wrote:
>>
>> 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.
>>>>>>>>>>>
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