Agriculture: Hey, boffins - leave our rice alone!

Thai biotechnologists have patented a group of genes in the rice plant that they claim are responsible for producing aromatic grain.

Patent registration with the US Patent and Trademark Office is being followed by patent applications in another seven countries. According to the scientists, researchers can improve other rice breeds to produce a better fragrance, helping farmers to produce better-quality grain and generate more export income.

What it probably means is that once again the world will end up with a product that tastes nothing like it did before boffins started stuffing around with it. Roses that don't smell, strawberries that taste nothing like they did in my childhood summers and tomatoes that come close to breaking the Taste Description Act!