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Genetically modified mushrooms cleared by the USDA
While the ethical debate rages on about genetically modified human embryos, the United States Department of Agriculture has cleared its first CRISPR-modified organism. CRISPR, in case you've forgotten, is an editing technique that can alter the genome of almost any organism pretty easily. Penn State University's agriculture department used the method on white button mushrooms to include an anti-browning phenotype that reduced the polyphenol oxidase enzyme (turns produce brown when exposed to air) down to about 70 percent effectiveness. Popular Science notes that because CRISPR doesn't use bacteria or viruses to affect the DNA like previous methods have, these 'shrooms aren't considered "plant pests."
