10) This is Scientific American’s 60 Second Science. I’m Steve Merski.
Got a minute?
White rice is one of the world’s most popular staple foods, but white
rice also shows that humans have been manipulating genes since the dawn
of civilization. White rice evolved from wild red rice 10,000 years
ago, and a new study finds that all white rice in the world is derived
from two rice sub-species that experienced almost identical mutations.
The study appears in the journal Public library of Science Genetics.
The mutations shorten a protein that ordinarily would lead to colour in
rice. The researchers believe that ancient farmers liked the odd white
rice and actively bred and spread it, first across the Himalayan region
and then across the rest of the world. Was it the colour or the lack
thereof that made the grain more attractive? Maybe not, because white
rice varieties cooked faster, which requires less fuel. Also insects
and diseases were easier to spot on the lighter rice strains. So next
time you bring a forkful of white rice to your mouth, remember the
thousands of ancient geneticists that keep you from seeing red.
Thanks for the minute. For Scientific American’s 60 Second Science, I’m
Steve Merski