I have recently read two reports that provided some interesting food for thought, pardon the pun. They both involve the results of sending seeds into space. If you are to believe Chinese government reports, then bombardment with cosmic radiation causes beneficial mutations that result in enormous pumpkins, tomatoes and selected other vegetables. If you are to believe Sapporo Holdings Ltd., then nothing happens at all. I know which story I believe, but as always it is good to hear both sides.

Guandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences

In 2006 a batch of 2,000 vegetable seeds was launched into space. Since returning to earth, these seeds have been selectively bred in order to cultivate those with the best characteristics. The research was carried out at the Guandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and if you are to believe the hype, created some vegetables of unusual size (VOUS) The results say the Guandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, are 9.5kg tomatoes, nine-inch chilies, 95kg pumpkins and enormous watermelons.

According to researcher Lo Zhigang, there is no clear reason why time in orbit affects the seeds. He speculates that from microgravity and exposure to cosmic radiation could have a part to play. He is satisfied that the VOUSs are safe for human consumption.

“We don’t think there’s any threat to human health because the genes themselves do not mutate, just their sequence changes.” (Lo Zhigang)

The trouble is that no one has been able to replicate the results. NASA and Dupont have both done their own experimentation and explicitly stated that the results do not justify the expense. Which leaves me with the question, are the VOUSs the result of time in space, or was it the breeding process that produced these gargantuan vegetables?

Sapporo Holdings Ltd.

Sapporo Holdings Ltd. makes a good brew. Of all the Japanese beers I have drunk, it is the Sapporo that I head back for whenever I hit the town. The reason why they factor into the equation is that they are experimenting with “space barley” that is barley that was grown from the third generation of barley grains that spent six months aboard the International Space Station.

Sapporo is planning to brew a small batch of space beer amounting to approximately 100 bottles. They have also announced that the barley does not taste different and that they have not yet noticed any genetic differences between earth-grown and space-grown varieties; slightly contradictory to Chinese reports.

My thoughts

If we look at the first case, the NASA comment indicates that something does happen, but does not clearly explain what and that the gains, if any, are limited. It is possible that the Chinese have researched this matter more deeply, but it should be noted that it is possible to grow enormous vegetables, especially pumpkins without sending seeds into space.

Barley is a grain rather than a vegetable, yet if changes were appearing in vegetables, would it not be fair to assume that we could expect to see some changes to the barley as well. Sapporo Holdings Ltd. who has every reason to put a positive spin on the story doesn’t.

Call me a skeptic, but I am inclined to go with my favorite Japanese beer company on this one. I get the distinct impression that nothing happens and the Chinese claims are more of an exercise in global public relations than they are in good science. I have eaten a nine-inch chili before and it didn’t come from seeds that spent any time in space. [Geekinetic, PopSci, The Daily Mail]

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