Fish Tale Has DNA Hook
I've written about Dan Janzen's idea for a DNA barcoding device , which you could use to identify the different kinds of life you encounter. I recently was forwarded a post from David Duthie (of the UN Environment Program) that spotted a new application: truth in sushi labeling. I have been a "fan" of DNA barcoding for a while now and believe that when DNA can be linked to the power of the Internet (DNA-museum-Google Earth) via a hand-held barcoder/barcorder - as suggested long ago by fellow BIOPLANNER Dan Janzen - then maybe biodiversity will have gained the power to truly inspire the general public and becoming an important "way of thinking" about the world around us. Below is a story from the New York times that gives us a glimpse of what that world might be like - where two high school children, albeit with some good connections, can demonstrate that some NY sushi is not "kosher" - offering farmed tilapia at tuna prices. A few days earlier, I...