Breeding mutants

摘要

"These tearless, non-pungent onions will not only wipe tears away from the kitchen and the food processing facilities, but also will add a new dimension to the enjoyment of onion recipes around the world." This was the proud prediction of a team of Japanese researchers, including Tomoko Abe at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, in April 2016, in a paper describing the use of heavy-ion beams to breed sweet-smelling onions. Japanese curry company House Foods Corporation has since begun selling the onions as 'Smile Balls'.