Scientists Are Growing Psychedelic Cotton In The Lab

Australian scientists believe they have found a way to crack the molecular code of cotton, so that it grows in a range of gorgeous colors, from bright yellow to deep purple to golden orange. These plants could be a game changer for the fashion industry, which largely relies on toxic dyes to create the colors in the clothes we wear. The genetically modified cotton was developed by a lab within Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO. The team, led by senior research scientist Dr. Colleen MacMillan, has managed to create vibrantly colored cotton plant tissue in petri dishes. Over the next few months, the scientists will work to grow this tissue into flowering cotton plants that will be able to reproduce. The ultimate hope is that these cotton plants can be spun into fibers that can be made into colorful clothes, which don’t require any dyes. Read more at Fast Company.