Mars to spend £5 million to unwrap DNA of chocolate

[paulham]

Gratuitous pic of chocolate
[Mars, the sweets manufacturer, is to invest more than $10 million (£5 million) in an effort to decode the cocoa genome, part of a five-year project to be undertaken with the US Department of Agriculture and the computer company IBM.

The genome is the hereditary information of an organism encoded in its DNA. By analysing the 400 million or so parts that make up the seed of a cacao tree, researchers hope to find new ways to treat crop diseases and protect the world's chocolate supply.

Perhaps more importantly, Mars hopes to track down the flavour genes, so that the taste can be improved to create a scientifically perfect sugar high. ]
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4221801.ece

[angiecake]

Are they gonna GM our chocolate?!