FREIBURG, Germany, March 29 (UPI) -- German scientists have bred a new rice strain genetically engineered to forestall human blindness by producing beta-carotene.
The strain, developed by institutions involved in the Golden Rice Network, is being combined with existing varieties of one of the world's most important food crops. When the scientists check the resulting strains for biosafety, they will make them available to small farmers free of charge. The farmers will be able to hold the seed over each year to plant new crops, surmounting financial barriers sometimes associated with commercial seed.
Beta-carotene is converted by the body into vitamin A, a nutrient essential to good eyesight. Though a form of rice containing beta-carotene already exists, the new strain produces 23 times more.
Vitamin-A deficiency causes some 250,000 to 500,000 children to go blind each year. More than half then die within a year. Vitamin-A deficiency also undermines the immune system. In the developing world, approximately 40 percent of children under age 5 are at greater risk from disease because they do not receive enough vitamin A.
