Sadly missing from article: The (lower) detection limit of the gamma-detecting GMO potato plants. "Starts glowing when safety risk is still minimal" could be extremely useful. Vs. "starts glowing shortly before you do" - not so much.
Kinda-Important Context: The PhD student is at the Univ. of Tennessee/Knoxville's Herbert College of Agriculture - which Google Maps says is 21 mile straight west of the old X-10 Graphite Reactor ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-10_Graphite_Reactor ). That was built as part of the Manhattan Project during WWII, to produce plutonium for nuclear bombs. I'd guess that "fast production, zero stoppages, starting yesterday" were the top priorities at the time. Vs. "no leaks, no spills safety" - not so much.
Kinda-Important Context: The PhD student is at the Univ. of Tennessee/Knoxville's Herbert College of Agriculture - which Google Maps says is 21 mile straight west of the old X-10 Graphite Reactor ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-10_Graphite_Reactor ). That was built as part of the Manhattan Project during WWII, to produce plutonium for nuclear bombs. I'd guess that "fast production, zero stoppages, starting yesterday" were the top priorities at the time. Vs. "no leaks, no spills safety" - not so much.