Found a couple of interesting articles in The Independent (A new dawn for agriculture)(A victory in the battle against hunger), about scientists having decoded the genome of the wheat plant and the benefits that this might bring in as little as five years. Interesting too that the scientists concerned (British scientists!) are placing all their research on the internet publically for anybody to use for the benefit of all mankind. I don't pretend to understand the science behind it all but it sounds promising.

Hi Malcolm. Couldn't miss it this morning - front page news!

If nothing else, good to see agriculture monopolising some serious column inches in a national.

I also note that the Genome of wheat is a lot more complex than that of the human being as being the result of four main input streams.

Genome... genome... I recognise that word, but having not had a biology lesson for seven weeks, it's slipped my mind...

~Meggiewes~

The genome is the sequence of DNA specific to a particular organism. It is a mixture, if you like, of the DNA sequeces of the organisms parentage, hence why wheat's is so compicated as it is a desendant of several different plants being crossed. I think that's about it anyway. I no molecular biologist mind.

Here's an interesting article on this.