Legendary Locations Countdown to Swimsuit, Day 13: Exuma Islands, Bahamas

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Posted February 05, 2014

Nina Agdal & Ariel Meredith in the Bahamas, 2013 :: Walter Iooss Jr./SI

SwimDaily iscelebrating the impending launch of Swimsuits 50th anniversary issue with this video-a-day series, hosted by Emily DiDonatoand featuringour most memorable shoot locations.

Be sure to come back daily because we are sending ONE LUCKY READER to on the trip of a lifetime to the No. 1 Legendary Location. Go herefor more details!

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Nassau and its sky scraping hotels get all the pub in the Bahamas but its an open secret that here, in Georgetown, the capital and largest city of the Exuma Islands district, are some of the most picturesque waterfronts on the planet. Paradise? Paradise aint got nothing on this place.

The Exumas are a collection of islands known for its natural treasures. One of the first stops on our boat tour takes us to an island inhabited by oversized Iguanas. Putter out a little further and go ashore at a thick sandbar planted in the middle of the sea. Sand is just sand to you until you stick your feet in this and watch them sink up to your ankles. A trip to a private marina allows passengers the opportunity to swim with sharks, while at the Thunderball Grottoso named for its use in the 1965 Bond filmsnorkelers can cruise through the caves gazing down at the thousands of fish that call it home.

The highlight of the trip is the finale, a small, seemingly uninhabited island. It looks quiet upon first approach, but the sound of the outboard motor sends a pack of 300-plus pound pigs indigenous to the area charging into the sea. Tourists are encouraged to feed, pet and swim with them, and the pigs are happy to hang out as long as food keeps coming in their direction.

Its a unique experience in a unique place. And its why for any visitor who makes the journey to Georgetown, one trip is never enough.

Chris Mannix

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Legendary Locations Countdown to Swimsuit, Day 13: Exuma Islands, Bahamas

Castaway arrives in Marshall Islands after 13 months at sea

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MAJURO, Marshall Islands, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A 37-year-old man arrived in a badly damaged boat in the Marshall Islands on January 30, claiming to have been lost at sea since December 2012.

The man, who identified himself as an El Salvadoran national named Jose Ivan Alvarengo, described his ordeal in an interview with The Telegraph. Upon seeing land last week, Alvarengo said, "I cried, Oh God. I got to land and had a mountain of sleep. In the morning I woke up and heard a rooster and saw chickens and saw a small house. I saw two native women screaming and yelling. I didnt have any clothes -- I was only in my underwear and they were ripped and torn."

Alvarengo appeared well fed despite his 13 months at sea, has a gaunt face, swollen ankles, and a bushy beard.

On December 21, 2012, Alvarengo said he and a 15-year-old fisherman named Ezekiel set off for a one-day fishing trip when the motor on their 24-foot boat stopped working. They then drifted into the Pacific Ocean. Ezekiel died four months later. Alvarengo survived off of birds, turtles, fish, and small sharks. He said he frequently drank his urine to quench his thirst.

Despite contemplating suicide during a four-day period, he credited constant prayer, lack of boredom, and little fear with his survival. "I had my mind on God ... If I was going to die, I would be with God. So I wasnt scared ... I imagine this is an incredible story for people."

According to CNN Weather producer Judson Jones, it is possible Alvarengo traveled from Mexico to the Marshall Islands within 13 months given a possible "meandering journey in and out of the currents" in the Pacific.

At the time of his disappearance, Alvarengo worked for a Mexican company and wants to be repatriated to Mexico. The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement indicating embassy personnel from the Philippines would travel to the Marshall Islands "to learn directly about the case."

U.S. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands Thomas Hart Armbruster has been credited with helping authorities obtain information about Alvarengo's family in El Salvador and the U.S.

[The Telegraph] [CNN]

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Castaway arrives in Marshall Islands after 13 months at sea

Marshall Islands castaway? Man says he survived 13 months adrift in Pacific

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Marshall Islands:Officials were reacting cautiously to the Spanish-speaking man's story while they try to piece together more information. If true, the man's ordeal would rank among the greatest tales ever of survival at sea.

It's a story that almost defies belief: A man leaves Mexico in December 2012 for a day of shark fishing and ends up surviving 13 months on fish, birds and turtles before washing ashore on the remote Marshall Islands some 5,500 miles (8,800 kilometers) away.

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But that's the story a man identifying himself as 37-year-old Jose Salvador Alvarenga told the U.S. ambassador in the Marshall Islands and the nation's officials during a 30-minute meeting Monday before he was taken to a local hospital for monitoring. Alvarenga washed ashore on the tiny atoll of Ebon in thePacific Ocean last week before being taken to the capital, Majuro, on Monday.

"It's hard for me to imagine someone surviving 13 months at sea," said Ambassador Tom Armbruster in Majuro. "But it's also hard to imagine how someone might arrive on Ebon out of the blue. Certainly this guy has had an ordeal, and has been at sea for some time."

Other officials were reacting cautiously to the Spanish-speaking man's story while they try to piece together more information. If true, the man's ordeal would rank among the greatest tales ever of survival at sea.

Armbruster said the soft-spoken man complained of joint pain Monday and had a limp but was able to walk. He had long hair and a beard, the ambassador said, and rather than appearing emaciated he looked puffy in places, including around his ankles. Otherwise, he added, Alvarenga seemed in reasonable health.

Armbruster, who speaks Spanish, said the survivor told the following story:

He's a native of El Salvador but has lived in Mexico for 15 years and fishes for a man he knows as Willie, catching sharks for 25 pesos ($1.90) per pound.

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Marshall Islands castaway? Man says he survived 13 months adrift in Pacific

Mexican fisherman shore up Marshall Islands castaway's account

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A man lost at sea for more than a year survived, he says, on only what he caught from a small fishing boat. It seems improbable, but doctors say it's possible.

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

The father of Pacific castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga said he was told his long-lost son vanished on a fishing trip but he didnt have the heart to break the news to his ailing wife.

Courtesy of Telemundo

Ezequiel Cordoba saw Jose Salvador Alvarenga on Dec. 18, 2012, when he left to go fishing with Jose Salvador Alvarenga.

Now both parents are celebrating after learning that the son they last saw almost a decade ago is alive after washing up on the Marshall Islands with a long beard and an astonishing story of more than a year lost at sea.

They told me that he had entered the sea and that hed never come out, Ricardo Orellana told NBC partner Telemundo from the family home in El Salvador.

But because she was ill, I told her nothing, he said of his wife, Julia Alvarenga, who wept tears of gratitude.

Although she had no idea that Alvarenga had left Mexico on a 24-foot boat and never returned, because he had been out of touch for so long, she worried misfortune had befallen him.

I pleaded to my all powerful God that if my son was still alive, that he would take care of him. If he was dead, that he would forgive him, she said.

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Mexican fisherman shore up Marshall Islands castaway's account

Human Genetics – Buzzle

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Human genetics is the branch that studies the aspect of 'inheritance' in formation of human beings. Its study makes it easier to understand the cause of certain disorders, behavioral issues and development.

The Importance of Housekeeping Genes

Housekeeping genes are those that are always expressed in all cells of an organism, and are important for the maintenance of basic or 'housekeeping' functions of the cell. This Buzzle write-up provides a brief account of the same.

Pros and Cons of Gene Patenting

Gene patenting is quite common in the medical field today, however, it is still surrounded by many controversies. In this Buzzle article, we will discuss what is gene patenting and what are its positive and negative aspects.

Pros and Cons of Designer Babies

Designer babies are babies, whose genetic makeup has been artificially screened and chosen by scientists, via genetic engineering. This concept has raised numerous ethical issues. Let's have a look at the pros and cons of designer...

DNA Replication Steps

The process of DNA replication comprises a set of carefully orchestrated sequence of events to duplicate the entire genetic content of a cell. The current article provides a short insight into the complex DNA replication steps.

Incomplete Dominance Examples

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Human Genetics - Buzzle

Removing Hair Around the Base of a Cat’s Tail : Cat Health Care & Behavior – Video

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Removing Hair Around the Base of a Cat #39;s Tail : Cat Health Care Behavior
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Removing Hair Around the Base of a Cat's Tail : Cat Health Care & Behavior - Video

Obamacare Success Story: LA Jewish organization serving seniors salutes heathcare reforms – Video

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Obamacare Success Story: LA Jewish organization serving seniors salutes heathcare reforms
The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has been quite controversial especially when it comes to getting Americans registered online. But there hav...

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Obamacare Success Story: LA Jewish organization serving seniors salutes heathcare reforms - Video

Health care navigator available locally

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Signing up for affordable health care will be a little bit easier through the end of March because of a partnership between Washington-Morgan Community Action and the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

The two organizations teamed up in October to offer a free health care enrollment process through a navigator grant.

According to Carrie McNamee, director of senior and community services for Washington-Morgan Community Action, 36 people have been helped by the health care navigator.

"We definitely want to encourage people to call if they have a question," she said, adding that the hope was to help many more people before the March 31 deadline to sign up.

The navigator can answer questions over the phone or local residents can make an appointment and go to Community Action to meet in person and review the website with a helping hand.

Joree Jacobs, director of communications for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, said there is a need for affordable health care and the assistance provided is just an extension of the services the organization offers.

Assistance is provided by Washington-Morgan Community Action and the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

For local assistance in answering questions or setting up an appointment, call Community Action at 373-3745.

Navigators will help those seeking assistance navigate the federal website and answer the questions, but it is up to each individual to decide which plan is right for them.

Each individual will need to know budgetary and tax information going into the appointment.

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Health care navigator available locally

Health care law may lead some to quit jobs, report says

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WASHINGTON Several million American workers will cut back their hours on the job or leave the nation's workforce entirely because of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, congressional analysts said Tuesday, adding fresh fuel to the political fight over "Obamacare."

The workforce changes would mean nationwide losses equal to 2.3 million full-time jobs by 2021, in large part because people would opt to keep their income low to stay eligible for federal health care subsidies or Medicaid, the Congressional Budget Office said. It had estimated previously that the law would lead to 800,000 fewer jobs by that year.

Republican lawmakers seized on the report as major new evidence of what they consider the failures of Obama's overhaul, the huge change in U.S. health coverage that they're trying to overturn and planning to use as a main argument against Democrats in November's midterm elections.

It's the latest indication that "the president's health care law is destroying full-time jobs," said Republican Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "This fatally flawed health care scheme is wreaking havoc on working families nationwide."

But the White House said the possible reduction would be due to voluntary steps by workers rather than businesses cutting jobs people having the freedom to retire early or spend more time as stay-at-home parents because they no longer had to depend only on their employers for health insurance.

The law means people "will be empowered to make choices about their own lives and livelihoods," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said the top reasons people would reduce work would be to qualify for subsidized coverage and an expanded Medicaid program. But he said lower wages because of penalties on employers who don't provide coverage and looming taxes on generous health care plans would also be a factor.

The agency also reduced its estimate of the number of uninsured people who will get coverage through the health care law. The budget experts now say 1 million more people will be uninsured this year than had been expected, partly because of the website problems that prevented people from signing up last fall.

However, it wasn't all bad news for the Obama administration. The CBO's wide-ranging report predicted that the federal budget deficit will fall to $514 billion this year, down from last year's $680 billion and the lowest by far since Obama took office five years ago.

The new estimates also say the health care law will, in the short run, benefit the economy by boosting demand for goods and services because the lower-income people it helps will have more purchasing power. The report noted that the 2014 premiums that people pay for exchange coverage are coming in about 15 percent lower than projected, and the health care law, on balance, still is expected to reduce the federal deficit.

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Health care law may lead some to quit jobs, report says

Health care law to reduce labor participation – NBC40.net

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By ANDREW TAYLOR and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Several million American workers will cut back their hours on the job or leave the nation's workforce entirely because of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, congressional analysts said Tuesday, adding fresh fuel to the political fight over "Obamacare."

The workforce changes would mean nationwide losses equal to 2.3 million full-time jobs by 2021, in large part because people would opt to keep their income low to stay eligible for federal health care subsidies or Medicaid, the Congressional Budget Office said. It had estimated previously that the law would lead to 800,000 fewer jobs by that year.

Republican lawmakers seized on the report as major new evidence of what they consider the failures of Obama's overhaul, the huge change in U.S. health coverage that they're trying to overturn and planning to use as a main argument against Democrats in November's midterm elections.

It's the latest indication that "the president's health care law is destroying full-time jobs," said Republican Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "This fatally flawed health care scheme is wreaking havoc on working families nationwide," he said.

But the White House said the possible reduction would be due to voluntary steps by workers rather than businesses cutting jobs - people having the freedom to retire early or spend more time as stay-at-home parents because they no longer had to depend only on their employers for health insurance.

The law means people "will be empowered to make choices about their own lives and livelihoods," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said the top reasons people would reduce work would be to qualify for subsidized coverage and an expanded Medicaid program but that lower wages - because of penalties on employers who don't provide coverage and looming taxes on generous health care plans - would also be a factor.

The agency also reduced its estimate of the number of uninsured people who will get coverage through the health care law. The budget experts now say 1 million more people will be uninsured this year than had been expected, partly because of the website problems that prevented people from signing up last fall.

However, it wasn't all bad news for the Obama administration. The CBO's wide-ranging report predicted that the federal budget deficit will fall to $514 billion this year, down from last year's $680 billion and the lowest by far since Obama took office five years ago.

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Health care law to reduce labor participation - NBC40.net

Health care law will mean fewer people on the job – NBC40.net

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By ANDREW TAYLOR and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Several million American workers will cut back their hours on the job or leave the nation's workforce entirely because of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, congressional analysts said Tuesday, adding fresh fuel to the political fight over "Obamacare."

The workforce changes would mean nationwide losses equal to 2.3 million full-time jobs by 2021, in large part because people would opt to keep their income low to stay eligible for federal health care subsidies or Medicaid, the Congressional Budget Office said. It had estimated previously that the law would lead to 800,000 fewer jobs by that year.

Republican lawmakers seized on the report as major new evidence of what they consider the failures of Obama's overhaul, the huge change in U.S. health coverage that they're trying to overturn and planning to use as a main argument against Democrats in November's midterm elections.

It's the latest indication that "the president's health care law is destroying full-time jobs," said Republican Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "This fatally flawed health care scheme is wreaking havoc on working families nationwide," he said.

But the White House said the possible reduction would be due to voluntary steps by workers rather than businesses cutting jobs - people having the freedom to retire early or spend more time as stay-at-home parents because they no longer had to depend only on their employers for health insurance.

The law means people "will be empowered to make choices about their own lives and livelihoods," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said the top reasons people would reduce work would be to qualify for subsidized coverage and an expanded Medicaid program but that lower wages - because of penalties on employers who don't provide coverage and looming taxes on generous health care plans - would also be a factor.

The agency also reduced its estimate of the number of uninsured people who will get coverage through the health care law. The budget experts now say 1 million more people will be uninsured this year than had been expected, partly because of the website problems that prevented people from signing up last fall.

However, it wasn't all bad news for the Obama administration. The CBO's wide-ranging report predicted that the federal budget deficit will fall to $514 billion this year, down from last year's $680 billion and the lowest by far since Obama took office five years ago.

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Health care law will mean fewer people on the job - NBC40.net

National Poll Shows Public Divided on Genetic Testing to Predict Cancer Risk

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Newswise Salt Lake City, UT A national poll from the University of Utahs Huntsman Cancer Institute shows 34 percent of respondents would not seek genetic testing to predict their likelihood of developing a hereditary cancer even if the cost of the testing was not an issue. Concerns about employment and insurability were cited as the primary reason, even though current laws prohibit such discrimination.

The poll also shows only 35 percent of respondents would be extremely or very likely to seek aggressive prophylactic or preventive treatment, such as a mastectomy, if they had a family history of cancer and genetic testing indicated a genetic pre-disposition to cancer.

I see patients every week who could have taken steps to reduce their risk if theyd known theyd had a predisposition for a certain type of cancer. The best treatment for cancer is prevention, of which genetic testing plays an integral role, said Saundra Buys, M.D., co-director of the Family Cancer Assessment Clinic and medical director of the High Risk Cancer Research at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), and professor of medicine at the University of Utah. In addition to educating the public about the important role genetic testing plays in both prevention and treatment of cancer, we must also work to eliminate perceived false barriers to testing, such as concerns about insurability and employment.

Nearly 40 percent of those who said they wouldnt seek testing reported being somewhat or extremely concerned that the results would impact opportunities for employment, while 69 percent of that same group reported being somewhat or extremely concerned that the results would have an adverse impact on their ability to get insurance.

Inherited mutations play a major role in the development of approximately 5 percent of all cancers. Genetic mutations associated with more than 50 hereditary cancer syndromes including those discovered at the University of Utah for melanoma, colon and breast cancer have been identified.

Buys says the survey demonstrates that even with increased media attention to genetic testing in recent months more work is needed to educate the public about the type of information genetic testing provides and who should seek it. She says family and personal health history are the most important factors in determining whether a person should consider genetic testing.

She warns, however, that genetic testing is only as good as the genetic counseling that accompanies it. There are many genetic tests being ordered in physician offices around the country without the benefit of genetic counseling. The results of these tests are complex, and without appropriate counseling, can cause confusion and unneeded anxiety for patients, said Buys.

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National Poll Shows Public Divided on Genetic Testing to Predict Cancer Risk

Penn study reveals genetics impact risk of early menopause among some female smokers

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5-Feb-2014

Contact: Katie Delach katie.delach@uphs.upenn.edu 215-349-5964 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHA - New research is lighting up yet another reason for women to quit smoking. In a study published online in the journal Menopause, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report the first evidence showing that smoking causes earlier signs of menopause in the case of heavy smokers, up to nine years earlier than average in white women with certain genetic variations.

Though previous studies have shown that smoking hastens menopause by approximately one to two years regardless of race or genetic background, this study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that genetic background is significantly associated with a further increased risk of menopause in some white women who smoke. No statistically significant relationships between smoking, the gene variants under investigation and earlier menopause were observed in African American women.

While symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, anxiety and insomnia can result in discomfort, embarrassment, and irritability, the onset of menopause is also associated with risks of coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, and death from all causes. On average, women enter menopause at around 50 years of age. However, the research team now reports that menopause may begin at an earlier age in white female smokers who are carriers of two different gene variants. While the genes themselves do not result in early onset menopause, variations of the genes CYP3A4*1B and CYP1B1*3 were found to increase the risk of entering menopause at an earlier age in white smokers. The genetic variants were present in seven and 62 percent of white women in the study population, respectively.

"This study could shed new light on how we think about the reproductive risks of smoking in women. We already know that smoking causes early menopause in women of all races, but these new results show that if you are a white smoker with these specific genetic variants, your risk of entering menopause at any given time increases dramatically," said the study's lead author Samantha F. Butts, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine.

Results of the study, which enrolled over 400 women aged 35 to 47 from the Penn Ovarian Aging Study, found that in carriers of the CYP3A4*1B variation, the average time-to-menopause after entering the study in heavy smokers, light smokers, and nonsmokers was 5.09 years, 11.36 years, and 13.91 years, respectively. This means that for heavily smoking white females with this genetic background, the average time-to-menopause was approximately nine years earlier than in nonsmoking carriers.

In white carriers of the CYP1B1*3 variation, the average time-to-menopause in heavy smokers, light smokers, and nonsmokers was 10.41 years, 10.42 years, and 11.08 years, respectively -- a statistically significant difference although not as stark as the findings for the CYP3A4*1B variant.

The Penn study did not examine why no statistically significant relationships between smoking, the gene variants under investigation, and earlier menopause were observed in African Americans.

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Penn study reveals genetics impact risk of early menopause among some female smokers

Study Reveals Genetics Impact Risk of Early Menopause Among Some Female Smokers

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Newswise PHILADELPHA - New research is lighting up yet another reason for women to quit smoking. In a study published online in the journal Menopause, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report the first evidence showing that smoking causes earlier signs of menopause in the case of heavy smokers, up to nine years earlier than average in white women with certain genetic variations.

Though previous studies have shown that smoking hastens menopause by approximately one to two years regardless of race or genetic background, this study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that genetic background is significantly associated with a further increased risk of menopause in some white women who smoke. No statistically significant relationships between smoking, the gene variants under investigation and earlier menopause were observed in African American women.

While symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, anxiety and insomnia can result in discomfort, embarrassment, and irritability, the onset of menopause is also associated with risks of coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, and death from all causes. On average, women enter menopause at around 50 years of age. However, the research team now reports that menopause may begin at an earlier age in white female smokers who are carriers of two different gene variants. While the genes themselves do not result in early onset menopause, variations of the genes CYP3A4*1B and CYP1B1*3 were found to increase the risk of entering menopause at an earlier age in white smokers. The genetic variants were present in seven and 62 percent of white women in the study population, respectively.

This study could shed new light on how we think about the reproductive risks of smoking in women. We already know that smoking causes early menopause in women of all races, but these new results show that if you are a white smoker with these specific genetic variants, your risk of entering menopause at any given time increases dramatically, said the studys lead author Samantha F. Butts, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine.

Results of the study, which enrolled over 400 women aged 35 to 47 from the Penn Ovarian Aging Study, found that in carriers of the CYP3A4*1B variation, the average time-to-menopause after entering the study in heavy smokers, light smokers, and nonsmokers was 5.09 years, 11.36 years, and 13.91 years, respectively. This means that for heavily smoking white females with this genetic background, the average time-to-menopause was approximately nine years earlier than in nonsmoking carriers.

In white carriers of the CYP1B1*3 variation, the average time-to-menopause in heavy smokers, light smokers, and nonsmokers was 10.41 years, 10.42 years, and 11.08 years, respectively -- a statistically significant difference although not as stark as the findings for the CYP3A4*1B variant.

The Penn study did not examine why no statistically significant relationships between smoking, the gene variants under investigation, and earlier menopause were observed in African Americans.

It is possible that uniform relationships among white and African American women were not found due to other factors associated with race that modify the interaction between smoking and genes, said Butts. It is well known that race affects multiple features of menopause, and this could be another. Further investigation is needed to clarify this question.

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Study Reveals Genetics Impact Risk of Early Menopause Among Some Female Smokers

Can Genetic Engineering Mitigate California's Drought?

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STANFORD, CA Water is in increasingly short supply in many parts of the United States. Here in California, where most of the state is experiencing extreme drought, 2013 was the driest year on record, and we have had no relief during what should be the height of the rainy season. Moreover, theres no end in sight: The Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Serviceforecaststhat the drought will persist or intensify at least through April.

Reservoir levels are dropping, the snow pack is almost nonexistent, and many communities have already imposed restrictions on water usage. In the city of Santa Cruz, for example, restaurants can no longer serve drinking water unless diners specifically request it; Marin County residents have been asked not to clean their cars or to do so only at eco-friendly car washes; and there are limitations on watering lawns in towns in Mendocino County.

But it is the states premier industry farming that will feel the pinch most. In an average year, farmers use 80 percent of the water used by people and businesses, according to the Department of Water Resources.

During a January 19 press conference at which he declared a water emergency, Governor Jerry Brown said of the drought, This is not a partisan adversary. This is Mother Nature. We have to get on natures side and not abuse the resources that we have.

Drought may not be partisan, but it does raise critical issues of governance, public policyand how best to use the states natural resources. It also offers an example of the Law of Unintended Consequences: Ironically, Santa Cruz, Mendocino and Marin counties all of which boast politically correct, far-left politics are among the local jurisdictions that have banned a key technology that could conserve huge amounts of water.

The technology is genetic engineering performed with modern molecular techniques, sometimes referred to as genetic modification (GM) or gene-splicing, which enables plant breeders to make old crop plants do spectacular new things, including conserve water. In the United States and about 30 other countries, farmers are using genetically engineered crop varieties to produce higher yields, with lower inputs and reduced impact on the environment.

Even with R&D being hampered by resistance from activists and discouraged by governmental over-regulation, genetically engineered crop varieties are slowly but surely trickling out of the development pipeline in many parts of the world. Cumulatively, over 3.7 billion acres of them have been cultivated by more than 17 million farmers in 30 countries during the past 15 years without disrupting a single ecosystem or causing so much as a tummy ache in a consumer.

Most of these new varieties are designed to be resistant to herbicides, so that farmers can adopt more environment-friendly no-till farming practices and more benign herbicides; or to be resistant to pests and diseases that ravage crops. Others possess improved nutritional quality. But the greatest boon of all both to food security and to the environment in the long term will likely be the ability of new crop varieties to tolerate periods of drought and other water-related stresses. Where water is unavailable for irrigation, the development of crop varieties able to grow under conditions of low moisture or temporary drought could both boost yields and lengthen the time that farmland is productive.

Even where irrigation is feasible, plants that use water more efficiently are needed. Because irrigation for agriculture accounts for roughly 70 percent of the worlds fresh water consumption, the introduction of plants that grow with less water would allow much of it to be freed up for other uses. Especially during drought conditions, even a small percentage reduction in the use of water for irrigation could result in huge benefits.

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Can Genetic Engineering Mitigate California's Drought?