46 votes

Bioluminescent houseplant hits US market for first time

9 comments

  1. [5]
    vord
    Link
    I am really tempted by this. It is super cool. But I dislike patents on life. This is less-bad than the Glofish, but it's the same shit that makes Roundup Ready crops incredibly problematic....

    I am really tempted by this. It is super cool. But I dislike patents on life. This is less-bad than the Glofish, but it's the same shit that makes Roundup Ready crops incredibly problematic.

    Patents on life means natural reproduction of life is illegal. And that's kinda fucked.

    18 votes
    1. [2]
      Xenophanes
      Link Parent
      I just ordered one. That is indeed fucked and I'm absolutely going to try to reproduce them anyway. I'm guessing that they are engineered not to seed (even though they do flower), but petunias can...

      I just ordered one. That is indeed fucked and I'm absolutely going to try to reproduce them anyway. I'm guessing that they are engineered not to seed (even though they do flower), but petunias can be grown from cuttings.

      When asked whether Light Bio is worried about plant lovers sharing cuttings of the petunia with friends, Sarkisyan says that although the firm owns patents for the technology, it doesn’t plan to crack down aggressively on the behaviour. “The most positive way of dealing with it is to come up with new, better products,” he says.

      31 votes
      1. vord
        Link Parent
        I won't lie, I gave in. I do plan to propagate as much as I can.

        I won't lie, I gave in. I do plan to propagate as much as I can.

        11 votes
    2. [2]
      babypuncher
      Link Parent
      It's a weird problem to solve, because how do you compete on price with someone who did not have to spend millions on R&D to get their first seed? I'm not defending the practice, but I'm curious...

      It's a weird problem to solve, because how do you compete on price with someone who did not have to spend millions on R&D to get their first seed?

      I'm not defending the practice, but I'm curious what alternative approach there is that still incentivizes stuff like this.

      9 votes
      1. vord
        Link Parent
        I mean, I think the answer is they have the right to sell as much seed exclusively. But any seed recollection or free distribution downstream is fine. If that becomes unsustainable, R&D will move...

        I mean, I think the answer is they have the right to sell as much seed exclusively. But any seed recollection or free distribution downstream is fine.

        If that becomes unsustainable, R&D will move back to research universities and we can just public-domain findings.

        13 votes
  2. [3]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link
    Anyone that knows plants have any idea if it's one of the many things that probably kills cats?

    Anyone that knows plants have any idea if it's one of the many things that probably kills cats?

    9 votes
    1. [2]
      MimicSquid
      Link Parent
      Petunias are safe for cats, and while the mushroom that it's crossed with is toxic, the caffeic acid that it causes the new petunias to make doesn't seem like it's dangerous to cats in the...

      Petunias are safe for cats, and while the mushroom that it's crossed with is toxic, the caffeic acid that it causes the new petunias to make doesn't seem like it's dangerous to cats in the quantities that exist in the leaves?

      8 votes
      1. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        Ty! I'm not good with plants in the first place but always terrified I'll accidentally poison my cats

        Ty! I'm not good with plants in the first place but always terrified I'll accidentally poison my cats

        6 votes
  3. TanyaJLaird
    Link
    Alright. I'll say it, because someone has to. It's just so obvious. It's kitsch, but damn it, it just works too damn well. Petunias? They started with tobacco. But let's be honest. If there is any...

    Alright. I'll say it, because someone has to. It's just so obvious. It's kitsch, but damn it, it just works too damn well.

    Petunias? They started with tobacco. But let's be honest. If there is any plant, on this Earth, that needs to be funky bioluminescent...in has to be cannabis. In fact, we should pass a law requiring ALL cannabis to be funky and bioluminescent. Grow closets would glow with faint magical splendor. Vast fields would entrance the mind with an ethereal, otherworldly beauty. It's just too good.

    EDIT: Also, we will make sure all the IP will be open source before we mandate it. Otherwise that like...wouldn't be cool man.

    7 votes