Rice Mapped

The International Rice Genome Sequencing Project today announced they've cracked the DNA sequence of rice. That sounded pretty cool to me until I read this:

"You could equate this to being as important as the Human Genome Project," which recently compiled a human genetic map, said Rod Wing, a scientist at the University of Arizona who was a key participant in the rice project. "This is really a project that can lead to important discoveries and findings that can help the condition of the poor. The poorest of the poor are the ones that depend on rice the most."

Reading Wing's quote turned "pretty cool" into "fucking awesome" pretty quick. Now if only they can create a version that doesn't stick to the bottom of the saucepan...