Genetically engineered tomatoes to the rescue…

Juicy red tomatoes are not just pleasing to the eyes and our taste buds, a team of scientists in Brazil and Ireland are now trying bioengineering to use tomatoes for more.

A latest research paper has discussed the potential of tomatoes as a biofactory to produce capsaicinoids. You probably know that capsaicinoids are found abundantly in capsicum and chilli peppers and lend spiciness to cuisines. What’s interesting is that capsaicinoids are used for manufacturing pain-killers, specifically for arthritis patients and have little or no side effects. But growing peppers requires a lot of effort.

On the other hand, tomatoes are not only comparatively easier to grow but also have the model organism and genes that can be manipulated easily to grow capsaicinoids.

This finding has potential industrial and pharmaceutical application so it is a big thing in the making. Read what Ryan F. Mandelbaum has reported on this.

Image credit: Image credit: Photo: Karl Thomas Moore (Wikimedia Commons)


Comments (6)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

This is so sad, this is not funny at all. Elephants are enslaved in zoos and circuses, they abused and beaten and forced to perform. So this little "joke" is really not funny. You can find out more about the plight of elephants from videos and articles on line, or from the movie ""How I Became an Elephant" here is a preview of the movie http://www.rattlethecage.org/node/47
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@Cathy:

So therefore every picture of an elephant is a travesty?

Please. I'm all for animal rights, but this is not the place. This is both clever and hilarious.
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Depression in elephants is well documented. It comes from their almost unique ability to remember events for their entire lives. I am far from an animal rights activist, but elephants require special care.
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I agree with Cathy and Craig. My 13 yr old just saw it and said the same thing... Very disappointing. I feel for the elephant in this picture. Take a good look where he is being held. I'm also angry because I recently dropped about $80 on stocking stuffers in the neato shop. Never again.
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Yeah, I don't think this is that funny. Elephants are very social animals and IF this elephant is in the situation he *appears* to be in, it's really quite sad. And if he isn't, how am I supposed to know?

Poor thing.
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Interresting how moderators here are concerned about
comment behaveour,clean language and keeping this place sooooo positive.
But they are absolutely silent when it comes to their posters animal torture fetish.
Does words really hurt more than suffering animals??
Strange ways to prioritise here.
Style over substance when it fits the moderators i guess.
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Dude, you guys are so lame. This is a funny picture! Calm the crap down. Take the joke as it comes and laugh. What, are y'all avid PETA members? Geez, give it a break.

I giggled. So freakin' sue me.
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Did everyone here who is upset by this image have the same reaction when they saw lolrus? ( walrus with a bucket)

Because that was an animal in captivity with an implied emotional state based on text printed over it.

How does anyone here even know if this elephant is in fact in captivity? Oh you saw some high walls and a gate, that 's brilliant. Those are only used for captivity in Asia, or so I've heard.

As for it being actually depressed, it's only implied by the text, we actually know NOTHING about that context of this photograph.

Craig, we are all aware of the powerful context of a concentration camp, whereas here, you just made an assumption about what's happening. So no, they are not alike. You just compared horrific cruelty with something that only has implied context.

I am a huge elephant fan and I know they can become legitimately depressed, so I don't find this image funny, but some of you are blowing this image way out of proportion.

If you take a photo of someone waiting for a bus and staring at their feet, you could easily slap something about depression over it. But it in no way means that person is ACTUALLY depressed, especially if it's intended as a joke.

and this joke is irrelephant, it was made long ago lol.

http://www.snorgtees.com/anything-unrelated-elephants
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Yeah I agree with Saccade...the idea that the pictured elephant is suffering could simply be that...an idea that is generated by the caption. For all we know, he/she was just scratching his/her head...on the other hand schadenfreude is kinda ugly so laughing at something that is unhappy is kinda uncool...
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