New computing tool could lead to better crops and pesticides say researchers

New computing tool could lead to better crops and pesticides say researchers. Syngenta University Centre at Imperial College London launched today %0A " - Imperial College London News Release - For Immediate Release - Tuesday 22 September 2009 A new computing tool that could help scientists predict how plants will react to different environmental conditions in order to create better crops, such as tastier and longer lasting tomatoes, is being developed by researchers. The tool will form part of a new £1.7 million Syngenta University Centre at Imperial College London, announced today, which will see researchers from Imperial and Syngenta working together to improve agricultural products. Scientists are keen to develop new strains of crops such as drought resistant wheat and new pesticides that are more environmentally friendly. However, in order to do this, they need to predict how the genes inside plants will react when they are subjected to different chemicals or environmental conditions. Professor Stephen Muggleton, Director of the new Centre from the Department of Computing at Imperial College London, says: "We believe our computing tool will revolutionise agricultural research by making the process much faster than is currently possible using conventional techniques. We hope that our new technology will ultimately help farmers to produce hardier, longer lasting and more nutritious crops." The researchers have developed a prototype of the new tool, which they are currently testing.