But critics say too little research has been done. Spoiled meat could be recalled, they say. Nelson denied repeated requests for an interview. However, Plant Sciences does hold permits from the U.S. Department of Agriculture going back to 1997 to splice strawberry genes. The permit documents also state that no environmental assessments were submitted on the work.
Genes are molecules that all living things carry in their cells.
They determine nearly every aspect of physical being, from the color of a person's hair to the sweetness of a strawberry. The qualities controlled by genes are passed from generation to generation. For at least two decades, scientists have split open those molecules and inserted bits of new molecules to develop new products. Some of those products include insulin, treatments for cancer and a possible cure for multiple sclerosis. Scientists have created potatoes resistant to the blight that caused the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s and rice with extra vitamin A that could save the eyesight of poor Asian children.