Science & Nature
Hi-tech onions stop crying before frying
The Times, 2 February
In a stand against the age old problem, scientists in New Zealand have developed a tearless onion by removing the gene responsible for the enzyme which makes us weep at the chopping board. The hi-tech vegetable resembles its original in every way, but has been engineered not to disturb the lachrymal glands of the eye, which secrete tears.
The gene-silencing process reduces the irritant by 500 times and even improves the flavour of milder onions, which do not produce tears but lack the flavour of ordinary onions. Colin Eady of the New Zealand research institute Crop and Food, noted that ‘It has all the sweet smells of an onion, but without the take-your-nose-away kind of smell’.
It is hoped that the onions will become the fare of kitchen tables around the world. The gene-silencing methods may also be used to advance biotechnology in general, combating virus diseases and benefiting crop strength in many countries.
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