Yeah, And Monkeys Might Fly . . .

This deserves recording for posterity . . .

Given that one of the three titles for Steven Chu's lecture yesterday included the term "Biotechnology," then some readers might have wondered if Chu talked about this. He did indeed. He thinks that genetic engineering of plants might open the way to more effective use of solar energy by enhancing and utilizing their natural power of photosynthesis. The aim would be to produce enough power to supply a steady, renewable source of nonpolluting energy.

When the floor was opened for questions, the first person to speak had a different suggestion:

"Dr. Chu, don't you think that we could solve the energy problem by genetically engineering people to have wings so that they can fly?"

That nearly inspired me to suggest that we harness the force of laughter to generate clean, dependable energy for meeting all of our monstrous energy needs.

Well, as Dr. Chu noted, nine out of ten questions will be . . .