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Researchers Genetically Modify Common Houseplant To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds (genengnews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the genetically-modified-organisms dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News: Now, researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have genetically modified a common houseplant -- pothos ivy or devil's ivy -- to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it. The modified plants express a mammalian protein, called 2E1, that transforms these compounds into molecules that the plants can then use to support their own growth. Small molecules like chloroform, which is present in small amounts in chlorinated water, or benzene, which is a component of gasoline, build up in our homes when we shower or boil water, or when we store cars or lawn mowers in attached garages. These compounds are too small to be captured by even HEPA air filters and exposure to each has been linked to cancer. Findings from the new study were published recently in Environmental Science & Technology.

69 comments

  1. I thought these plants already did this... by sonamchauhan · · Score: 1

    No? I thought these plants already did this... Does this protein increase capture and conversion rate?

    1. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by sonamchauhan · · Score: 1

      Why I thought so..

      https://www.google.com/search?...

    2. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Maybe the new plant is extra removing of chloroform and benzene beyond what a collection of normal "removing" plants can remove.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    3. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They should plant them in orange orchards to capture the benzene produced by oranges.

    4. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by msauve · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yep. Whoop-de-shit. I haven't been attacked by chloroform since jr high science class, and then it was deliberate.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    5. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by Immerman · · Score: 2

      *SOME* plants remove benzene, though you're right that it does appear that golden pothos ivy is one of the top performers among common houseplants - so I would hope they're seeing a marked improvement to be worth mentioning. On the other hand, I'm not finding much reference to anything removing chloroform naturally.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    6. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by jimtheowl · · Score: 1

      A better guess would be that some plants do it better than others, for example if they evolved in areas with higher concentration of organic gasses.

      They likely isolated the genes of interest, clipped the DNA and plugged it into something better suited for the living room.

    7. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NASA has spent a large amount of money studying what plants remove what from the air at what efficiency. Mostly because house plants require relatively little maintenance, which is why they're house plants in the first place.

      House plants themselves are able to remove a lot of things that are difficult to mechanically remove from the air, they also provide some extra oxygen in the mix.

    8. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      Does this plant smell like chloroform to you?

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
    9. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some plants produce benzene. Plant them side by side and both will grow better?

      A plant that absorbs Radon gas will be even more useful in reducing cancer.

    10. Re: I thought these plants already did this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Radon is a noble gas, which makes absorption difficult.

    11. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep. Whoop-de-shit. I haven't been attacked by chloroform since jr high science class, and then it was deliberate.

      Did you wake up with a sore asshole?

    12. Re: I thought these plants already did this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that why nobody wants one? All we want is poison? It is time to sketch out a crude argument about these plants amazing capabilities

    13. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by jythie · · Score: 3, Informative

      There are quite a few houseplants that do indeed do this, but there is a bit caveat : they do it in tiny amounts. That is what gets left out of the various 'houseplants that clean the air' articles, they do not mention that you need huge numbers of them to get a measurable decrease in whatever it is they capture. So researchers that put together a plan that removes significant amounts AND only requires a small number of plants is pretty huge.

    14. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah he wasn't that tight. I had to slip on 3 condoms to have any kind of friction at all. I think it was all the time he spent in the closet with Mr. Anderson, the science teacher, that stretched him out...

    15. Re:I thought these plants already did this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plants themselves don't do anything with VOCs, it's the microorganisms in the soil and associated with roots that are really good at breaking down and eating the stuff we don't want. Living walls take advantage of this by cascading water through the roots of plants and passing air through the wall. The VOCs go into the water and the microbes chew on them. The whole plants clean the air thing was disproved years ago. They do produce oxygen though! Tasty tasty oxygen.

  2. NOW?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now they've done it? NOW?!

    1. Re: NOW?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Scared pumpkin?

  3. Good luck with that anyway... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good luck with that anyway if creimer is around!

    1. Re:Good luck with that anyway... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Creimer went to a Shake Shack and only had a strawberry milkshake.

    2. Re:Good luck with that anyway... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the only shake you know about!

  4. Researchers Genetically modify venus fly trap to.. by kalieaire · · Score: 3, Funny

    ..rid earth of toxic people.

    Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Audrey begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware 2:14 AM, Eastern time, August 29th.

  5. Re:Researchers Genetically modify venus fly trap t by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    But aren't those Triffids lovely to look at...

  6. Warning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    This plant contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

    1. Re:Warning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And fraud, and daughterlust, and treason.

    2. Re:Warning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, that's whatever spray-tan herr drumpf uses.

    3. Re:Warning by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      In California, reproduction itself has been shown to cause reproductive harm.

  7. Genetically Modified Forests by wolfheart111 · · Score: 1

    There's lots of work for tree planters up here in Canada, how about we use trees that will suck up pollutants via genetically modified. :)

    --
    [($)]
  8. Little Shop of Horrors references in..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    3....2.....1.....

    1. Re:Little Shop of Horrors references in..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nice time travelling there.

      homers

  9. Seymour by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Feeeeeed Meeeeeee

    'nuf said

    codeword

  10. To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 3, Insightful

    *To Remove Hazardous Compounds from Air

    --
    Sig. Sig. Sputnik
    1. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Walter+White · · Score: 1

      Please be kind to editors for whom English is not their primary language.

    2. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by presidenteloco · · Score: 3, Insightful

      or "to rid air of hazardous compounds"

      --

      Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
    3. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh English is still their primary language.
      It's the writing part that is foreign to them.

    4. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A lot of my plants have an air of hazardous compounds. Making them less threatening is a worthwhile effort!

    5. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Come on Dr. Covfefe!

      "They make it sound more like creimer's language."

      There, FTFY!

    6. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Creimer went to a Shake Shack and only had a strawberry milkshake.

    7. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree Dr. Covfefe,

      But it seems like Chris is a victim here. He keeps on reading those SEO, youtube algorithm, basically get rich quick sites. He doesn't realize that he is the fish for them since they make money off him with their own schemes. Then, he wastes his time trying to implement what those sites suggest and he ends up disturbing people.

      I mean, those crooks tell Chris that he has to build personal brands and he goes on the Internet and makes everything about himself public!

      I believe we should bring this up at our next meeting. He might not be our only patient victim of such on-line abuse.

      https://www.researchgate.net/p...

      --
      Silvia Bunge
      Psychology Department
      University of California, Berkeley

    8. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks Silvia,

      It seems like Chris' case is getting worse, he spends all day replying to himself as AC or using so called "sock puppet accounts" on Slashdot and now, on YouTube and other forums in order to grab attention!

      Chris had an agenda to post anything he felt like on Slashdot which did not work well because it was based on his false beliefs that he had an infinite number of karma points as he wrote here several times.

      Several people here explained to Chris that karma maxed out at some level like 50 or so but Chris kept on insisting that his python script had confirmed that he had millions of karma points!

      Oh well, as I wrote before: "It isn't Chris' fault if he is the way he is. We do the best we can do with him and he is partially integrated into society. We try to cure his abnormal need for attention but he is kind of stubborn and won't listen to anybody."

      For the valuable /. users that might already have read the following, please note that there is an important update.

      IMPORTANT UPDATE:
      Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education has invested money to buy Chris a new chair:
      http://www.keynamics.com/image...

      Information about Christopher Dale Reimer and his type of autistic people:

      Chris' type autistic people have obsessions about things normal people don't care. For example, Chris went haywire when he realized that there was a penny missing in his pocket change.

      To calm him down, one of our educator pretended to have found it on the floor and gave a penny to him.

      Chris' condition went even worse because he realized it wasn't the same penny!

      Chris has an obsession with budgeting every penny. He doesn't understand that most people do not budget to the penny and have a flexible amount they allow for miscellaneous items.

      I am Nancy Guerrero and I am Director of Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. We use Chris' (a.k.a. creimer,cdreimer) picture in our document because he is the hardest case we have ever had to handle:
      http://www.sccoe.org/depts/stu...

      Our artists were inspired by the low carb diet that Christopher follows scrupulously for the small lunch box and by the picture linked below for the rest. I am sure that you will notice the similarities such as the bump on the side of his chest and more:
      https://ibb.co/gVad65

      Please be easy on Christopher although, I am aware that some of our staff handling Chris post joke comments here and obvoiusly, the Santa Clara County Office of Education disapprove that behavior vehemently:
      http://ibb.co/mRVSaG

      But it isn't Chris' fault if he is the way he is. We do the best we can do with him and he is partially integrated into society. We try to cure his abnormal need for attention but he is kind of stubborn and won't listen to anybody.

      Thank You dear users,
      ---
      Nancy Guerrero
      Director
      Special Education
      Santa Clara County Office of Education

    9. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please be kind to editors for whom English is not their primary language.

      Well, yeah, "drool" is BeauHD's primary language.

      OK, to be precise it's "Russian! Russian! Russian! drool", but you get the point.

    10. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      I think it removes breathable air for hazardous compounds, so you can get your toxins PURE.

    11. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If your job is to write headlines in English, you had better do it right. Otherwise, you're just incompetent.

    12. Re:To Remove Air of Hazardous Compounds ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's bitztream the autism-hating, custom EpiPen-hating, Musk-hating, Qualcomm-hating, Firefox tabs-hating, Slashdot editors-hating Slashdot troll!

  11. The Simpsons Nothing Can Possibli Go Wrong by js290 · · Score: 0
    https://youtu.be/CwPWmEzoVbw

    3) Our precautionary principle.https://t.co/QFl1hYKOeV

    Note the recent trumpeted GMO meta-analysis of 6000 papers had only... 50 per study, and NO tail risk.

    Note that none of the "Nobels" were into tail risk. Includes literature etc.

    — Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) March 6, 2018

    --
    "Tempers are wearing thin. Let's just hope some robot doesn't kill everybody." --Bender
    1. Re:The Simpsons Nothing Can Possibli Go Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Note that none of the Nobels were about hostfiles or the Electric Universe either.

  12. What is this air of hazardous compounds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it like the thing that US company, Union Carbide, unleashed on Bhopal before disappearing with all the money?

  13. Re:Which is the worst *BSD of all? by TheRealQuestor · · Score: 1

    ummm wrong thread there Jackson.

  14. Seymour by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Feed me!"

  15. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  16. Do you have to "water" it with gasoline? by misnohmer · · Score: 2

    If the plants uses those chemicals to grow, does that mean that if your house doesn't have sufficient amount of them you have to water it with gasoline? Or can it live on regular water and non-toxic stuff too?

    1. Re:Do you have to "water" it with gasoline? by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

      Plants use atmospheric CO2 as one of their carbon sources, this modification allows them to also incorporate these chemicals into their metabolism. It wouldn't supplant the entire metabolic chain, we're not that good at genetic manipulation.

    2. Re:Do you have to "water" it with gasoline? by DarkOx · · Score: 2

      This plant already had some existing metabolic process that uses those chemicals. Since the researches just added something - a new protein - without taking anything out my guess is that yes the plant can still live on its "normal" nutrient sources.

      That said I would also assume it would be slightly less fit and require a little more inputs than unmodified individuals after all its making a protein it does not need.

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
  17. "to remove air of hazardous compounds"... LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unbelievable.

    So hazardous compounds have their air removed?

    I think you (American, of course) mean "to remove hazardous compounds from the air". Idiot.

  18. Triffids by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

    The day of the Triffids is coming soon. One of favorite books btw.
    Could they not have picked a plant with a more innocuous name, "devil's ivy" has an ominous ring as it is, never mind "genetically modified devil's ivy".

    --
    There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
    1. Re:Triffids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dethklok just signed on as a sponsor for further research. They're hoping to use the next generation of the plants to rid the stage of their basement dwelling fans' odor.

  19. Title? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

    I'm assuming the submitter isn't a native English speaker, but would it be too much for the Editor to convert the title to something that passes for colloquial English?

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    1. Re:Title? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're asking too much of BeauHD

  20. Doesn't it ... by aliquis · · Score: 1

    ... remove hazardous components from the air?

    Then again if you do have a collection of hazardous things with some CO2 in it possibly also N2? a plant could remove that.

  21. In Soviet Russia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hazardous air removes compounds from YOU!

  22. Grammar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    âoeRemove Air of Hazardous Compounds?â I did not know hazardous compounds needed thier air removed. How about âoeRemove Hazardous Compounds from Air.â

  23. Molesting the lede by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Burying the lede is bad enough, but you guys outright butchered that shit.

  24. Scams by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

    Sounds great!

    Scam advertisements for devil's ivy on Facebook in 3... 2.... 1....

  25. So? by BitztreamNotARealNam · · Score: 2

    How's life in the hypocrite lane?