Plants as a source of light 

A new source of renewable energy was idealized by English students: plants as a source of light. The process is possible using transgenic plants.

There are 4 methods to create a transgenic plant: microinjection, gun gen or biolistic, agrobacterium and electroporation.

The microinjection is used more in animal cells, and is like a shoot, but at a microscopic level.

The gen gun is really a gun that shoots in the plant cells. It is the most used technique nowadays. The bullet is made from tungsten, an inert metal and is covered with a DNA sample that contains the gene of interest, like resistance to drought or fluorescence. The shoot is very fast because the bullet is propelled by helium gas.

The agrobacterium is a bacteria that lives in the soil discovered years ago and that is capable of introduce its DNA in plant cell through a cytoplasmic bridge.

The electroporation consists in to induce, through an electric current, the opening of cell’s pores, allowing the entrance of the vector that contains the gene of interest. This is reversible, so after some seconds an opposite current closes the pores.

So this methods allows to create much incredible things, like a group of English students had the brilliant idea to create fluorescent trees to substitute the street lighting. They created the fluorescent plants from a gene isolated from de genetic code of fireflies that produces the protein responsible for the fireflie’s light.

Thereby, we can see that the transgenesis can be used of many ways, not only to improve the global production of food, and the possibilities will arise with the time. Who knows which others incredible ideas will appear. 

   

New technologies in Agriculture

Today the Agriculture is highly technological. The advancement made alternatives arise to improve the food production. One of this alternatives is called “Precision Agriculture”, and was possible thanks the advance in the electronic devices, like the GPSs. This technology is based in the principle of the soil and climate variations. Through the GPS is possible to control the machines according to the soil fertility, dividing the farm in many squares by satellite imageries collected by satellites. Each square have a different level of fertility. The tractors can be control by Smartphones without driver. The person uses a software that activate a GPS in the tractor that allows the tractor’s control. The commands are sent through satellites to the tractor’s command. The precision agriculture, therefore, is a very expensive technique because needs high-technology, but is very useful.  

Actually not only tractors can be command by Smartphones. The irrigation system of an entire farm can be control with just a few types in the cellphone. We are in a new era of food production. Many people still look to the agriculture and livestock as this practices were the same like fifty years ago, but just the people that work in this field know how technological is this the field.

Today, the seed production uses cutting-edge technology. A seed today have a pellicle lining its surface that contain all the agrochemicals necessary against soil pests, decreasing losses.

The fertilizers, like the seeds, have special pellicles that allows the fertilizer dissolving gradually, become it more effective.

Despite all, what the people have to know is that the agriculture field uses cutting-edge technology and this will be world salvation.