200m ha of GM crops seen by '15

At least 20 million farmers in 40 countries would be growing genetically modified (GM) crops on 200 million hectares by 2015, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri- Biotech Applications (ISAAA) said on Tuesday.

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Idaho's Simplot company tries to perfect GM potatoes

In the potato capital of the world, spud honchos made sizzling rich on America's french fry affair fill downtown offices. In the distance, potato fields sprawl east and west and there are ample cafes to carbo-load on spuds served baked, stuffed, fried and, somewhat miraculously, frozen into ice cream.

And inside tucked-away laboratories in the town that hash browns built, teams of scientists are splicing potato genes, working daily to perfect Idaho's top cash crop with modern biotechnology.

At J.R. Simplot Co., the eponymous potato company founded by Idaho's richest man, biologists have used gene technology to design a spud that's tastier and resistant to unsightly bruises and sprouts.

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En busca de la patata perfecta

Un grupo de biólogos de Idaho (Estados Unidos) han empleado técnicas de ingeniería genética para lograr patatas con más sabor y resistentes a magulladuras y al nacimiento de brotes, según recoge la lista de distribución de noticias Agbioworld. Los responsables de la compañía que desarrolla la investigación, J. R. Simplot, productora de patatas congeladas, fertilizantes, semillas y piensos para ganado, sostienen que todavía tendrán que pasar entre cinco y diez años para que esta patata mejorada genéticamente pueda ser comercializada.

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