interesting and scary. the last sentence just cracks me up.
-x
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 1:00:07 PST
From: AFP <C-afp@clari.net>
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space, clari.world.asia.china, clari.tw.misc,
clari.tw.science+space, clari.world.asia+oceania
Subject: Vegetables from outer space to land on China's markets
SHANGHAI, Nov 30 (AFP) - Vegetables grown from seeds sent into
orbit will soon land in Chinese markets with consumers expected to
bite, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday.
"These green peppers are more tender in taste and their size
huge. As long as the price is not to steep, I will definitely buy
them," said Zhao Ming, a farmer who tried a prototype of the new
product.
Peppers and tomato seeds were spun in orbit around the earth for
15 days and bombarded with a wide range of cosmic rays which
produced mutations in the seed's genes, the paper said.
After the satellite returned to earth, researchers planted 400
seeds to see whether the mutations were beneficial -- some were,
others were not, the paper reported.
The first generation of space peppers had a misshapen appearance
but after breeding the space seed with a local variety, researchers
produced a pepper with more nutrients, trace elements, vitamin C and
dissolvable sugars than ordinary varieties, the report added.
The peppers bred by the Jiading Agrotechnical Centre, an
institute responsible for crop research are expected to receive
sales certification from Shanghai's Science and Technology
Commission before the end of the year.
"People don't have to worry about eating space food," said Pang
Yingjie, president of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
"Unlike other genetically modified food, space food changes its
own characteristics on its own rather than through operations by
biologists," he added.
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