"There will always be problems of unintended consequences," says TIME senior science reporter David Bjerklie. The issue now is to find out through field research how significant those consequences are. For instance, how far can the pollen travel from a cornfield? Can it travel far enough to nearby fields of milkweed, the monarchs food source, in significantly harmful quantities? Some other questions: Does the pollen travel during the same period that the monarchs feed on the milkweed? How much milkweed is near cornfields as opposed to other areas? And can Bt corn be modified further? Clearly the Cornell study has flashed an amber light, but before it turns to red, says Bjerklie, "more investigation is needed." For the moment, he reports, "most plant and insect ecologists believe this will turn out to be a solvable problem." The findings, though, are yet another reminder of the minute interdependence of our world.
Uh-Oh! Altered Corn and Butterflies Don't Mix
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It seems be an inevitable law of nature: For every action there is some reaction. The big question is always, how good or bad is the reaction? For some time, the reaction to a genetically engineered type of corn called Bt corn was thought to be very good, since it produced a natural toxin that killed corn borers, and allowed farmers to forgo the use of insecticides. On Thursday, however, a Cornell University laboratory study published in the journal Nature announced some bad news: The corn produces a wind-borne pollen that can kill monarch butterflies if they ingest it. As for the future of genetically engineered crops, the finding has raised concern, but scientists are not yet ready to sound the alarm bell full blast.