[adamagalas (OP)]

I just heard on one of the podcasts that Sardinian grapes make the most healthy red wines because the chemical that prevents heart disease,(through the destruction of free radicals) is grown at the lowest latitutudes where they are exposed to the most UV light. Since the grapes manufacture the chemical to protect against UV damage, the more UV exposure, the higher the concentration of this chemical.

So I got thinking, why not take a page from the Marijuana growers and grow grapes in an artificial environment under UV lights?

Start out with the current UV amount they experience and increase the magnitude by .1% annually. Each year these Super Sardinian grapes will evolve into a hartier bunch that produces more and more of the beneficial chemical.

Eventually through genetic engineering perhaps we could make grapes that completely prevent heart disease due to their enormous potentcy of this chemical.

Or better yet, isolate the genes in the grapes that make the substance and place them inside a retro virus that inserts them into human DNA.

This would solve 3 problems, 1. Heart disease could be eliminated from the human species, 2. The chemical would prevent skin cancer, 3. By neutralizing free radicals this gene therapy could greatly reduce the rate at which people age.

Is this feasable, or are these ideas impossible?

Thoughts?

[realmswalker]

hmm well as far as increasing UV by .1% annually, this wouldn't necessarily cause them to evolve into a more UV resistant strand, if they produce this anti-UV chemical naturally in response to UV light.
You could jsut blast them with abnormal amounts of UV and they would compensate with abnormal amounts of anti-UV stuff.
This is what marijuana in hydroponics exposed to excessive light do with THC.

Secondly, you could take the normal grapes now and perhaps isolate and concentrate this chemical out of a bunch of them to produce a concentrated version of it (this would actually be the cheapest process)

Thirdly. Putting it in a retrovirus to be put into human DNA MIGHT work, but probably wouldn't, and really **** up humans, besides the FDA (here in America anyways) wouldn't allow it...ever...


Also theres always the possibility of artificially creating this chemical...

[iko]

quote:
1. Heart disease could be eliminated from the human species, 2. The chemical would prevent skin cancer, 3. By neutralizing free radicals this gene therapy could greatly reduce the rate at which people age.
 
adamagalas


It sounds too good to be true,
but I like the taste and flavour
of your Sardinian IDEA!

Take care

ikod

http://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/media/images/119_f.jpg