Reading Int 4: Programmable plants

Programmable plants

In electronics, even the most advanced computer is just a complex arrangement of simple, modular parts that control specific functions; the same integrated circuit might be found in an iPhone, or in an aircraft. 

Biologists are creating this same modularity in – wait for it – plants, by designing gene "circuits" that control specific plant characteristics – color, size, resistance to drought, you name it. The relatively new, interdisciplinary field is synthetic biology – the design of genetic circuits, just like in electronics, that control different functions and can be easily placed in one organism or the next. Most of today's synthetic biologists work with simple microorganisms, like E. coli or yeast. A CSU team led by June Medford, professor of biology, and Ashok Prasad, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, is doing the same thing, but in the much more complex biological world of plants. 

Are the following statements true, false, or not given in the text? 

1. The scientists are using a technique from electronics to control specific plant properties.

2. Some synthetic biologists work with genetic circuits of mammals. 

3. Most of synthetic biologists work with mammals.