China to Carry Seeds into Space |
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Written by spacetravel.org
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Thursday, 09 June 2005 20:58 |
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Chinas official news agency, Xinhua, announced last week that China is planning to launch a satellite carrying plant seeds into space, and then bring them back to be sown on Earth. The idea behind this enterprise is that the seeds will be affected by the radiation in space; they will develop genetic mutations, which might have a beneficial effect. Chinese researchers claim that they have had very good results with previous space-based experiments, for example, creating trees that are more resistant to disease and vegetables that taste better.
Similar experiments by NASA, however, have not achieved such success. In 2002, for example, the Pioneer Hi-Bred International seed company flew soybean seeds to the International Space Station. Soybean plants grown from space seeds had slightly more carbohydrate and a little less oil than control seeds, but the figures for the plants grown from space seeds were still within normal range. Company researcher Tom Corbin says that the seeds are still being tested for genetic changes; so far, no such changes have been found.
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