Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by takyon on Thursday July 30 2015, @06:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the golden-grains dept.

Rice serves as the staple food for more than half of the world's population, but it's also the one of the largest humanmade sources of atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Now, with the addition of a single gene, rice can be cultivated to emit virtually no methane from its paddies during growth. It also packs much more of the plant's desired properties, such as starch for a richer food source and biomass for energy production, according to a study in Nature.

With their warm, waterlogged soils, rice paddies contribute up to 17 percent of global methane emissions, the equivalent of about 100 million tons each year. While this represents a much smaller percentage of overall greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide, methane is about 20 times more effective at trapping heat. SUSIBA2 rice, as the new strain is dubbed, is the first high-starch, low-methane rice that could offer a significant and sustainable solution.

Researchers created SUSIBA2 rice by introducing a single gene from barley into common rice, resulting in a plant that can better feed its grains, stems and leaves while starving off methane-producing microbes in the soil.

"Researchers created SUSIBA2 rice by introducing a single gene from barley into common rice." So, does it ferment to sake, or beer?


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday July 30 2015, @08:02PM

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Thursday July 30 2015, @08:02PM (#215998)

    I heard a funny thing about Golden Rice.

    It seems that the the vitamin A deficiency it is supposed to address is being caused by farmers being pressured (economic and regulatory) into only growing rice. If they were allowed to grow the diverse crops they used to grow people would get all the nutrients they needed from the more balanced diet.

    Please let me know if you've heard otherwise.
     

    --
    "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Thursday July 30 2015, @08:46PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday July 30 2015, @08:46PM (#216014) Journal

    http://www.goldenrice.org/Content3-Why/why1_vad.php [goldenrice.org] (obviously pro-golden rice)

    We wish that everybody in the world had access to a well-balanced diet, capable of covering all nutrition needs of the population. Yet, a quick reality check teaches us that in many regions of the world this goal will not be achieved any time soon. The reasons for this sad reality are manifold. They are rooted in geographic and climatic limitations, different political, religious and sociocultural backgrounds and problems. We are happy to see the success of ongoing fortification and supplementation efforts, and we are convinced that Golden Rice will be able to contribute to these programs and narrow down the existing micronutrient deficiency gaps.

    These countries have had rice-heavy diets for some time.

    Rice [wikipedia.org] is the staple food of over half the world's population. It is the predominant dietary energy source for 17 countries in Asia and the Pacific, 9 countries in North and South America and 8 countries in Africa. Rice provides 20% of the world’s dietary energy supply, while wheat supplies 19% and maize (corn) 5%.

    Rice is the most important crop in Asia. In Cambodia, for example, 90% of the total agricultural area is used for rice production.

    http://www-plb.ucdavis.edu/labs/rost/Rice/introduction/intro.html [ucdavis.edu]

    Rice has fed more people over a longer period of time than any other crop. As far back as 2500 B.C. rice has been documented in the history books as a source of food and for tradition as well. Beginning in China and the surrounding areas, its cultivation spread throughout Sri Lanka, and India. It was then passed onto Greece and areas of the Mediterranean. Rice spread throughout Southern Europe and to some of North Africa.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Friday July 31 2015, @10:19AM

      by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Friday July 31 2015, @10:19AM (#216230)

      None of the links refute or confirm what i had heard about the root cause of the deficiency's that GR was made to address,

      thanks for the links though. I learned a few things about rice i didn't know :)

      --
      "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."