Render Posted January 14, 2013 #1 Share Posted January 14, 2013 In the comedy "Little Shop of Horrors," a carnivorous plant named Audrey Jr. grew nonstop by feasting on unsuspecting human beings. In a somewhat more benign development, researchers in Germany have developed tobacco plants that also can't stop growing. Under normal conditions, the tobacco plant has a rather uninspiring lifespan. They grow for three or four months, according to Investor's Business Daily, reaching 6.5 feet (2 meters) in height at the most, while their older leaves turn yellow and fall off. After flowering, the plants die. But researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) in Münster, Germany, have isolated the genetic switch that tells the tobacco plant to stop growing, flower and die. By suppressing that gene, the scientists have tricked the plants into growing like Jack's beanstalk — even the older leaves stay green and healthy. http://www.livescience.com/26213-tobacco-plant-genetics.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Commander Travis Posted January 14, 2013 #2 Share Posted January 14, 2013 More tea, Professor Frankenstein? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramelin Posted January 14, 2013 #3 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Imagine a forest of trees that can't stop growing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninsc Posted January 14, 2013 #4 Share Posted January 14, 2013 They invented Kudzu? I thought it was already invented? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimfloppp Posted January 14, 2013 #5 Share Posted January 14, 2013 should make food more easy to grow and go around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2013 #6 Share Posted January 14, 2013 should make food more easy to grow and go around Not likely.Food depends on coming to seed to produce viable next generations and without the triggers to stop growing this is unlikely to happen. Nature works the way it does for a reason. Br Cornelius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimfloppp Posted January 14, 2013 #7 Share Posted January 14, 2013 i wonder if potatos would become the size of footballs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astral Hillbilly Posted January 14, 2013 #8 Share Posted January 14, 2013 i wonder if potatos would become the size of footballs Gee ! You'd have to bake that thing for hours to make a baked potato ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogbin Posted January 14, 2013 #9 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I thought we already had a plant that didn't stop growing.. The Blackberry Bush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted January 14, 2013 #10 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Maybe we are going to need a better weed killer for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted January 14, 2013 #11 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Great, we don't have enough to worry about in this sorry world. Now a plant will take-over everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bad Voodoo Posted January 15, 2013 #12 Share Posted January 15, 2013 I wish that they let it grow that big so we could built houses in it and on it. Like in Ice wind dale, great oak...or like Ewoks...or Squirrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Render Posted January 15, 2013 Author #13 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babe Ruth Posted January 15, 2013 #14 Share Posted January 15, 2013 They invented Kudzu? I thought it was already invented? Exactly my thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now