Toxin Buster: New technique makes cottonseeds edible

Scientists have engineered cotton plants to produce seeds that are missing a poisonous compound that had previously rendered them inedible. With the amount of crop currently planted, such modified cottonseeds could fill the daily protein needs of about 500 million people, the researchers say.

SPOT THE TOXIN. Gossypol-secreting glands form dark spots in seeds from normal cotton plants (top).