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New Technological Breakthrough To Fix Problems Of Previous Breakthrough
. 9 May 2001
COLLEGE STATION, TX--Agricultural scientists around the world are hailing
what is being called "the biggest breakthrough in biotechnology since the
breakthrough it fixes."
On Monday, Texas A&M chemists unveiled Zovirex-10, a revolutionary new
fungicide capable of halting the spread of a fungus unexpectedly spawned by
a July 2000 breakthrough, an advanced soy hybrid that grows 10 times better
in soil over-saturated with chemical herbicides.
The fungus, which, if left unchecked, would likely have destroyed 98 percent
of Earth's soy crop and wrought untold environmental havoc, made the latest
scientific advance possible.
"It's an extraordinary development," said Dr. Nathan Oberst, project coordinator
and the man responsible for both breakthroughs. "At the time, we thought the
soy hybrid was a fantastic thing. When the resultant fungus started wiping
out other soybean plants at an alarming rate, we thought we might have blundered,
but now it's clear that this potential global disaster was just the precondition
we needed for a major leap forward."
Oberst dismissed charges that the development of new biotechnological advances
to counteract unexpected side effects of prior biotechnological advances constitutes
a dangerous Moebius loop.
"It may seem dangerous to tinker with nature without knowing the long-term
effects," he said. "But without the threat of environmental disaster caused
by the short-sighted unbalancing of natural forces, how are we to bring about
positive change in the world around us?"
Oberst downplayed claims that if Zovirex-10 were to seep into the groundwater,
it would kill off 70 percent of fish and aquatic plant life, poison 35 percent
of the human population, and raise the temperature of the sea by seven degrees.
"If this is true, it shouldn't be thought of as a disaster," he said. "Modern
science has a long, proven track record of correcting the mistakes it inadvertently
unleashes on the world. I'm confident that if the worst ever came to pass,
science would find some way to fix it. That's what science does."
According to Oberst, flawed and dangerous technological advances have helped
broaden understanding in all fields of science.
"Just think about the hydrogen bomb," Oberst said. "Not only was it a tremendous
breakthrough in physics, it broadened our knowledge of everything from radiation
containment to bomb-shelter construction to hair loss. Science has been coming
up with breakthrough after breakthrough to fix the problems that the H-bomb
has created. Without the H-bomb, we would know significantly less about the
potential problems associated with the H-bomb."
"People shouldn't see man-made global disasters as a bad thing," Oberst
added. "They should see them as scientific breakthroughs waiting to happen."