I mean, why not use hemp instead of engineering a new species of tree?
You’ve been able to patent asexually reproduced plants since 1930, so if a new paper production centric hemp breed was primarily reproduced by cuttings it would be patent-able. If said hemp breed were reproduced via seeds, then you’d need to use the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 which allows very similar legal protections.
Poplars are probably the best way to get a lot of biomass quickly. I doubt hemp is a competitive alternative.
And they’re not engineering a new species of tree, they just modified the trees to reduce the lignin content so the cellulose can be processed easier and less resource intense.
Trees provide habitat for wildlife, can grow in areas less conducive to farming, and require little to no care after planting.
While what you’re saying is generally true about trees, they’re creating poplars for the paper industry. They will grow in big monocultures and get mowed down after just a decade. That’s pretty much worthless as an ecosystem.
They’re grown in a similar way for biomass for the energy sector. Poplars are probably the easiest way to build up a lot of biomass.
I, for one, am grateful for science and what we can do with it. It’s crazy awesome that people figured out how to edit genes. I really liked Unatural Selection (2019) TV series.
kudzu is very fibrous it can be made into paper and it grows so fast we can’t eradicate it in the southern united states. It grows like a foot a day. I worked with a guy in mississippi he cut it back 7 feet every saturday or it would overtake his backyard.
I’ve been fighting kudzu for years that keeps encroaching my property from the neighbor’s yard
by far the fastest growing plant matter I’ve ever seen
the way it can grow underground and then pop up 10 feet away it’s like those whack-a-mole games but far less fun
not to mention it wraps around any thing it finds so it can quickly choke out a tree
CRISPR? I hardly know her.
I’m concerned about the first application of crispr to make super soldiers.
A few genes flipped and the army coming out the other side would be terrifying.
Strong soldiers are cool and all but I feel war has progressed way passed that, what with all the drone vids of the ukraine war and such.
unless we have gene edited people that are pro gamers, in which case id cry a bit when I run into them online ;w;
As we saw in Afghanistan, drones are great but you need boots on the ground to hold territory.
