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Banana to be Sequenced

GodsMadClown writes "New Scientist reports that a global consortium plans to sequence the genetic code of a wild banana from east Asia. Because bananas are triploidal instead of diploidal, they are only able to reproduce asexually, which means that it adapts slower than organisms reproducing sexually. 'One rule of joining the consortium is that any invention developed through the project and protected [by patent] will be made available to smallholders through a royalty-free license,' says Emile Frison, director of the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain."

18 of 201 comments (clear)

  1. "...the International Network..." by tooloftheoligarchy · · Score: 3, Funny

    "...for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain?!"

    And here I was worrying that the world was in trouble. Now I can sleep at night.

  2. Duh! by Dark+Lord+Seth · · Score: 3, Funny
    they are only able to reproduce asexually

    Of course they reproduce asexually, who has ever seen two bananas humping eachother?

  3. Opensourced banana by watzinaneihm · · Score: 2, Funny

    'One rule of joining the consortium is that any invention developed through the project and protected [by patent] will be made available to smallholders through a royalty-free license,' says Emile Frison, director of the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain"
    Is that GPL or BSD ?

    --
    .ACMD setaloiv siht gnidaeR
    1. Re:Opensourced banana by AlecC · · Score: 3, Funny

      General Plantain Licence or Banana Source Disclosure?

      --
      Consciousness is an illusion caused by an excess of self consciousness.
  4. Doom and gloom in the world of nanas by Scorchio · · Score: 5, Funny

    When my alarm clock went off this morning, BBC Radio 1 news was in full soothsayer mode, foretelling how bananas will be wiped out by disease in ten years if nothing is done. Horrified, I hit snooze.

    According to a trivia game I was playing the other day, the banana is a herb, not fruit. Go figure.

  5. banana in your pocket by Stanley+Feinbaum · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey Emile Frison, is that a banana in your pocket or are you just the director of the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain?

    --

    Stanley Feinbaum, professional journalist and master debater! God bless the USA!

  6. This is bad for the MPAA by martin-boundary · · Score: 3, Funny

    Once they find and patent the banana's "funny" gene, slapstick comedy movie production prices will go through the roof...

  7. Fruit! ...so to speak. by c.emmertfoster · · Score: 2, Funny

    There's evidently an australian children's show called "Bananas in Pajamas," which has some rather nightmarish homoerotic(?) overtones.

    I'm rather relieved that my Google search for "bananas pajamas porn" returned no results.

    --
    We can neither love nor pity nor forgive. If you make a slip in handling us you die!
    1. Re:Fruit! ...so to speak. by blancolioni · · Score: 4, Funny

      There's evidently an australian children's show called "Bananas in Pajamas," which has some rather nightmarish [angelfire.com] homoerotic(?) overtones.


      You're not kidding; in fact the theme song goes "Bananas in pajamas are coming down the stairs."

      Powerful fruit indeed.

  8. no royalties? by magarity · · Score: 2, Funny

    'One rule of joining the consortium is that any invention developed through the project and protected [by patent] will be made available to smallholders through a royalty-free license,'

    Do they know to beware clever ideas put forward by the biochemists from the Rambus contingent?

  9. Knock Knock by devnullkac · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now we can finally update that tired knock-knock joke:

    Knock, Knock!
    Who's there?
    GCACCAATGCACCTGAAGCTCAGCTTAA...
    GCACCAATG CACCTGAAGCTCAGCTTAA... who?
    Knock, Knock!
    Who's there?
    GCACCAATGCACCTGAAGCTCAGCTTAA...
    GCACCAATG CACCTGAAGCTCAGCTTAA... who?
    Knock, Knock!
    Who's there?
    GCACCAATGCACCTGAAGCTCAGCTTAA...
    GCACCAATG CACCTGAAGCTCAGCTTAA... who?
    Knock, Knock!
    Who's there?
    Orange.
    Orange who?
    Orange you glad I didn't say GCACCAATGCACCTGAAGCTCAGCTTAA... again?
    --
    What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
  10. Re:The problem of asexually reproducing crops by OldStash · · Score: 5, Funny

    Remember that there are still wild sexually reproducing bananas out there

    You wouldn't have a link to their site, would you?

  11. Re:Bananas being sequenced... why? by dubstop · · Score: 3, Funny

    could seriously threaten the very existence of the Banana

    Cripes! I for one don't want to imagine a world without bananas. Let's just hope that there's enough time to push banana-based technology to a point where we no longer have to be afraid.

  12. super-banana by Alien+Being · · Score: 2, Funny

    You fall down just looking at it.

  13. Here is the proper sequence by CaptainSuperBoy · · Score: 3, Funny

    Dish > Banana > Ice cream > Chocolate syrup > Whipped cream > Sprinkles > Cherries > Spoon

    mmmmm...

  14. The things you learn about bananas by esme · · Score: 4, Funny
    Who would have thought that one of the most phallic foods was sterile and asexual?

    -Esme

  15. What will we do if it went extinct? by Rik+Sweeney · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think I'd go mad.

    Bananas even.

  16. Re:Bananas being sequenced... why? by EvilAlien · · Score: 3, Funny

    s/Westerners/Monkeys/

    --
    perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5, (41*2), sqrt(7056), (unpack(c,H)-2), oct(115), 10)'