Morgan BellThe first blue roses
November 4th 2008 01:19
We've all had to suffer through infinite verses of "Roses are Red", the song that seems to arrogantly place roses in the red flower category, and violets in the blue flower.
Down with this tyranny of colour! Free our flowers from their chains and concrete shoes! Let them fill whatever multi-hued fantasy they want, assuming a veritable rainbow of colours, all too expensive for the average person to buy at a flower shop!
Phenomenica reports that scientists have been working day and night, for over four years, on genetically modifying roses to naturally produce a bright blue pigment.
"The blooms are genetically modified and have been implanted with a gene that simulates the synthesis of blue pigment in pansies.
The flowers, which were displayed at the International Flower Expo (IFEX) Tokyo, will go on sale commercially next autumn."
The flowers, which were displayed at the International Flower Expo (IFEX) Tokyo, will go on sale commercially next autumn."
Previously, blue roses were just white roses, dyed by some method to look blue. The trick here is to genetically modify roses to produce the pigment, adding another chapter to the horrifying tales of Frankenfoods - Genetically Modified Organisms.
Well, now we've got Frankenflowers, stalking us in our sleep, sending wafts of pollen into our bedrooms, plastering us with laboratory specimens.
These flowers will be available next year, which means you can finally get your loved one something special. A Blue Rose! Available from... oh, sorry. NARWHAL!
As pointed out on Reddit, Narwhals exhibit 'tusking' behaviour:
"At times, male narwhals rub one another's tusks together in an activity called "tusking." Because of the tusk's high sensitivity, the males may engage in tusking for its unique sensation.[1]. The tusking may also simply be a way of clearing encrustations from the sensory tubules, analogous to brushing teeth."
* the second image is from the Wikipedia page on Narwhals
| 127 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Louie
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Johnny Come Lately
Jack's Back
Aren't rose colours meant to represent things when you give them like red is love, i think yellow is jealousy, white is purity. or so said my grandma. I wonder what blue would mean? They're cool anyway
Comment by Morgan Bell
Science News
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
The Thief of Bagdad (1960), its this Arabian tale where he has to obtain a blue rose to save a beautiful girl he loves - i think she was made sick by a curse and he has to go on this long journey and do all these tasks to find the blue rose as it is the remedy to her condition
Comment by Market Newbie
Gizmo Peek
Stock Market Punk
Comment by Cheryl J
Rhythmatism
Budget Centsability
I don't think I've seen the movie mentioned by Morgan but it sounds nice.
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Maybe they were around for a while and then became extinct? I remember reading a well researched book about teh Druids, who believed that it was highest form of love to give a blue rose?
Perhaps they were better alchemists than we give them credit for?
Lilla ...
Comment by Anonymous