Scientists Gene Hack Random Plant to Grow Cocaine

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Scientists in China claim to have genetically modified a plant to make cocaine.

Researchers are trying to figure out how the coca plant produces the party-friendly compound for decades. It's a complex biochemical affair, and while researchers have been able to map out most of the plants' process, one key element has continued to evade them.

The missing link is what the scientists say they were able to reveal. The researchers were able to identify two previously unknown enzymes in the cocaine production line.

A close relative of the tobacco plant was hacked by the scientists. The yield of a coca plant is about one quarter of the yield of a tobacco plant.

This innovation was not developed to be used for recreational purposes. Cocaine has some long-term medical uses, even though it is most famous as a party drug. It is hoped that this development sheds light on a biochemical mystery and contributes to ensuring that the substance is available for pharmaceutical purposes.

The availability of cocaine in tobacco is not enough to meet the demand on a mass scale according to a leader on the study.

Benjamin Lichman, a researcher at the University of York who wasn't involved with the research, told New Scientist that the breakthrough could allow pharmaceutical companies to ferment it.

It is possible that modifying plants to produce banned substances could be a factor in the drug trade.

It will have a huge impact on the supply chain and possibly on the production of illegal drugs.

It's likely that the tech won't be seized on by the Cartels for a while. You'd be better off sticking with the good ol' method of harvesting cocaine from the coca plant, as the new gene hacking process isn't cheap and isn't nearScalable.

The groundwork for exciting biochemical and pharmaceutical study could be laid by this work.

Scientists have found a way to control how high mice get on cocaine.