Last week, for example, researchers announced they had created a new "golden rice," that contains transplanted genes to combat vitamin A deficiencies that can cause blindness in millions of children around the globe.

In August, Petroykus told 4,000 colleagues at the 16th meeting of the International Botanical Congress, in St. Louis, that his team had been able to genetically engineer rice grains to improve the supply of vitamin A in the diet.

Petroykus calls it "golden rice."

The latest high-tech version of rice may look like the saffron rice of paella, but the pretty yellow color is far more than decoration. Described here last week at the 16th International Botanical Congress, the golden rice has been genetically engineered to contain [Beta]-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, as well as a healthy dose of iron.