The
idea of 'open source' is well known in the computer world. The
Linux operating system and Wikipedia are two famous examples.
These are created by enthusiastic people for all other people
to use for free. The users can help by adding their own improvements.
This is the very opposite of patenting in which 'intellectual
property' is owned and jealously guarded and can only be used
by others after licencing -- paying some money to the owner. Genetic
engineering also uses discoveries and inventions -- again, intellectual
property. The companies patent this information to stop others
gaining from their own research and development' Open source GE
comes about when the information discovered by researchers is
not patented so that anyone anywhere can use it. It is said to
be 'in the public domain'.
'Flood'
rice could feed millions
Pamela Ronald, a professor at the University of
California, Davis, has worked with the IRRI
to engineer a new flood-resistant rice variety. She
and her team of scientists have succeeded where 50 years
of conventional breeding has failed. They have placed
the information about the technique in the public domain
-- open source -- so that anyone can use it. This single
gene, called Sub1, comes from another rice variety and
the engineering technique is called 'cisgenic'
rather than 'transgenic'. Flooding of rice crops causes
losses of up to 4 million tons each year in India and
Bangladesh. That's enough food for 30 million people!
