Scientists at Unilever Research at Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, used a gene from the petunia plant to beef up the level of chemicals, called flavonols, in tomato peel. Flavonols are powerful antioxidants which mop up free radicals - destructive molecules that damage cells and DNA, and hasten ageing. Research has shown that certain foods, such as onions and tea, are rich in these substances.
Tomatoes also have the compounds in their skin, but the natural levels are much lower.
They are most digestible in cooked and processed tomatoes, hence the potential health benefits of pizza made with the GM fruit. Meanwhile, a pig that produces a cleaner kind of muck could soon be helping to save waterways from pollution. Success would mean a reduction in the pollution of waterways with phosphorus, a growing threat to the environment resulting from intensive animal agriculture. Because livestock cannot digest the organic phosphorus found naturally in grain, inorganic phosphorus is often added to pig and poultry feed to promote optimal growth. But when excess phosphorus in animal manure enters streams and lakes, it stimulates algal blooms that kill fish and other aquatic life.