Designer Fruits In Our Future?
March 19 2008 / by Venessa Posavec
Category: Technology Year: 2008 Rating: 8
Imagine walking down the produce aisle at the grocery store, and
deciding whether you wanted to buy an eggplant-shaped apple or
cucumber-shaped nectarine. We’re not quite there yet, but the first
step towards designer fruits and veggies has been made. 
Scientists have identified a gene in tomatoes, dubbed SUN, which is responsible for determining their shape. To confirm their discovery, they turned the gene on or off in a series of plant-transformation experiments. Sure enough, they were able to control whether the tomato would be round or extremely elongated. Their next goal is to find a similar gene that determines the shapes of other fruits and vegetables.
This is only a small step, but might one day make the farmer’s market a lot more interesting. Scientists are quantifying everything, from the genes that influence color to the genes that may slow cancer. We may one day have super-customized foods in pretty shapes and colors, and jacked up with enough vitamins to replace your one-a-day.
(via sciencedaily)
