Biotechnology could soon replace roses and other natural scents with a chemical compound grown from yeast or bacteria that is virtually indistinguishable.

A yeast by any other name…

Science promises yeast as a source for sweet smells, but farmers may wrinkle their noses

Scientists are predicting that the familiar taste of vanilla or smell of roses, along with thousands of other scents and flavours, will increasingly come from a very unfamiliar source — yeast — a trend that is worrying some farming experts. A revolution in science means the DNA of plants can be transferred into yeast, bacteria

(Jack Dykinga photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. patent agency to weigh rival claims on CRISPR

Reuters — The U.S. patent agency on Tuesday will hear arguments in a heated dispute over who was first to invent a revolutionary gene-editing technology known as CRISPR. Hundreds of millions of dollars may be at stake, as the technology promises commercial applications in treating genetic diseases, engineering crops, and other areas. CRISPR works as