Waterproof Rice

I guess it’s a day for the limelight. Not only did a picture of Pica’s boss make page one of the Davis Enterprise (for his little study about effects of the mosquito spraying on other insects), but a story about a UC Davis research project is now highlighted on the front page of the BBC web site. Scientists at UC Davis together with those at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines have identified a gene that can allow rice plants to survive being completely submerged for up to two weeks. This is of global importance because it can potentially provide rice crops with protection from catastrophic flooding.