China: Olive seeds that mutated in space sprouted

BEIJING, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Olive seeds that underwent space mutation experiments on the Shenzhou-14 crewed spacecraft in 2022 recently sprouted in Longnan, a city in northwestern China's Gansu Province. Researchers plan to gradually move the olive seeds they obtained from 315 grams of seeds outdoors in 2026 to acclimate them to the natural environment, according to China Central Television. Space mutation experiments involve exposing plant seeds or tissues to extraterrestrial environmental factors such as zero gravity, high radiation levels and extreme temperature changes to produce genetic mutations. Through these experiments, researchers hope to develop high-quality olive genetic resources with desirable traits such as high yield, superior quality, early ripening and strong disease resistance. Longnan is a "golden region" ...