How a genetically modified, disease-resistant Australian banana could prevent a global crop collapse

Source: ABC Science 

In a small plot in the Northern Territory, banana plants have thrived for almost a decade in soil that should kill them. According to those who have tried the fruit, they taste exactly like a banana should. But the plants near Humpty Doo have a secret hiding in their DNA: a genetic modification that protects bananas from a disease that is on the verge of wiping out crops around the world. James Dale, an agricultural biotechnology researcher at the Queensland University of Technology, helped develop the disease-resistant banana — the world’s first genetically modified banana to be approved in Australia.