Open-Source Technique for GM Crops

a_d_white writes "The Biological Innovation for Open Society has developed TransBacter, a new technique for creating genetically modified crops, which is being released as a BioForge project. Their license allows anyone to use and improve the technique as long as improvements are shared with everyone, à la open source. Other techniques for creating genetically modified crops rely on Agrobacterium, but this new method allows using bacteria outside this genus. The New York Times and Wired cover the story. The founding of BIOS was mentioned previously. Although the Nature paper is available from the BIOS website, with their emphasis on the free sharing of ideas it's rather ironic that the technique was not reported in an open-access journal."

Comments

Right on

[Leroy_Brown242]

This is nice to see. Information, free for all. In this casr especially, since it helps all of us.

I wonder how many other things would benefit the 'end user' if things were opened. Auto safety for instance.

Re:My own Genetics Lab

[bwcarty]

I've already started. You should see my 5 assed garbanzo beans.

Open Source + BIOS?

[schnogg]

I don't know about every one else, but I've been using Open Source and BIOS technologies together for years now.

Re:Funding?

[Anonymous Coward]

BioForge? Next thing you know they'll have open source GM animals and a web site called Freshmeat.

oh boy

[Anonymous Coward]

Tomacco will finally become reality

Whoops!

[JossiRossi]

Sorry guys. My modified corn crop not only causes cancer in 90% of all people it also kinda crossbred with the native corn in most of the southwest... so... uh... Sorry Guys.

Neat, solution for Monsanto

[clambake]

When monsanto crops breed with your GPL crops, they have to release the genetic code or they are in violation of the liscense?

Witch dunking

[Vainglorious Coward]

The farmer I mentioned went bankrupt because he had no way of identifying, or removing, the GM strain of crop from his field.

Note that there is a very simple way for Monsanto to identify whether (in this case) there are Roundup-Ready (in this case) crops present - they simply fly over and spray the field with roundup. If the crops die, then the farmer is innocent. If the crops don't die, then the farmer gets sued. Much like the medieval method for identifying witches.