Spud Gene!

Scientists at the Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium (best name ever right?) have finally succeeded in mapping the full genome sequence of the humble spud.
Fun fact potatoes are the 3rd most grown crop and over 309 million tonnes of potato was sold last year? AMAZING!
But back to the Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium!!
They have mapped all 12 haploid chromosomes (the dna bits)and its 840 million base pairs!
The two potato strains they sequenced where
"RH89-039-16 (RH), a diploid, heterozygous potato variety
DM1-3 516R44 (DM), a doubled monoploid."
Now for those of us that dont understand big words like that basically they are two different strains of potato and therefore have different genetic code.

The benefit of having completely mapped a genome is that now we can use it to find similarities too other plants, genetically modify the potatoes to be hardier and grow better, all sorts of wild wonderful things!

Soon is the day where we shall consume an entire meal in pill form and peel a banana to get a carrot.

Rotating Potato actually gravity map of Earth

PLANETARY PULL from Science News on Vimeo.

^that there is a gravitational map of earth.

Gathered date from the European Space Agency’s GOCE satellite.
The satellite launched back in 2009 uses multiple accelerometers (like the one in your phone but much cooler) to measure exactly how the earths gravity is tugging on it.
The blue is the normal gravity and the red and yellow are deviations.

This new research is designed to help us better understand tidal currents and our earth as a whole..

This video has been lovingly named the "Rotating Potato" by many scientists.