Friday, February 13, 2004

Genomics Update

At dinner last night with Juan and Mary Enriquez, one of the subjects that arose was South Korea and therapeutic cloning. Juan expressed astonishment that South Korea had taken the lead in this field; it was totally unexpected. Today's New York Times provides very good coverage of the implications of this breakthrough. In particular, you should read this piece.

On other issues, Juan pointed out that it is now theoretically possible to genetically modify leaves to turn color when they are closely proximate to TNT. Imgaine a minefield, if you will. Imagine that you drop a million GMO leaves across that minefield. Where the leaves turn red, there's a mine. Where the leaves stay green, there is no mine. Think about that as value creation. Think about that if your son is a minesweeper in the US Army or a refugee in Iraq or Afghanistan or the Sudan.