MONSTER MICE & GIANT FUNGUS

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BITS AND PIECES

Disquieting trends in genetics and other news

Picture a nervous mouse scampering across your kitchen floor. Only this is not a wee creature you see out of the corner of your eye. This guy is two and a half times the size of a regular mouse. Now how are you going to catch it?

According to Dr. Michael W. Fox's book, Superpigs and Wondercorn (Lyons & Burford, 31 W 21 St. New York, N.Y. 10010; 212/620-9580), researchers have already created mighty mouse recipes. Ohio State researcher J. Mintz created the giant mouse by inserting rabbit growth genes into mouse embryos. Interesting work to be sure, but why?

For one thing, biotechnologists believe livestock species could be engineered to enhance weight gain or growth rates, reproductive performance, disease resistance, and coat characteristics. Genetic engineering could also be directed to develop vaccines and improve crops.

Biotechnologists argue that genetic engineering is "simply an extension for selective breeding; since mutations (spontaneous genetic changes) occur naturally, there is nothing morally wrong with altering animals through genetic engineering:" If nature can create giant pigs, why can't we?

With all due respect to the scientific community, MOTHER suggess that this is a multi-dimensional question at best. What right do humans have to control evolution? Is it moral to try to "improve" upon nature? And what right do we have to make "improvements" for ourselves at the expense of the natural environment?

For our part, we could wait forever before seeing 12-foot-long, five-foot-high pigs. Fox says they are within the realm of possibility in the next 10 to 20 years. Or maybe when pigs fly (which could be tomorrow).

The Fungus That Ate Mount Adams

A two-and-a-half-square-mile fungus roaming Washington State? Sounds like a bad science fiction plot, but it's true. It's not exactly news, though, to Terry Shaw of the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Experiment Station in Fort Collins, CO. He and other foresters have been studying the fungus since the 1970s. What is news is the recent confirmation that the fungus is indeed one whole organism.

Don't be alarmed. The organism is not some huge blob sweeping across the state. But DNA fingerprinting shows that if you compare opposite edges of the fungus, you will find the same genetic material in both sections. It's one entire beasty.

This humongous fungus thrives along tree roots, preys off of the root's nutrients, and—aaaahhh!—sprouts mushrooms in the fall. Armillaria ostoyae, as this fungus is affectionately known, lives for 500 to 1,000 years. So, if you feel you need to see it, you've got plenty of time.