The American Chestnut is almost extinct. It was destroyed by a fungus inadvertently imported from Japan. It used to be an extremely valuable tree for many reasons, both ecological and economical. Well, efforts are under way to bring it back. There is an article in the March 2014 Scientific American about the results of transgenic research into providing it with immunity to the fungus. "The American Chestnut's Genetic Rebirth" by William Powell. Heck, I thought William Powell was the Thin Man. Powell is hopeful that they will be able to get approval of their new trees in about 5 years. If they do then a hundred years from now there may be forests full of chestnut trees. They do have one slight problem. They aren't sure what kind of approval they will get. Most transgenic approvals are for commercial uses. This one is for non-commercial uses. They just want to restore the chestnut to its place in America.
Bill Gill
