Next Year, Give Your Valentine Custom-Engineered Flowers With Bespoke Scents

Sweet Smelling Flowers David Clark, a researcher at the University of Florida, specializes in engineering aromas for flowers and other plants. University of Florida

Future guys and gals looking for a sweet-smelling bouquet for Valentine's Day might consider the root-beer-scented variety. Or they could opt for a fouler odor, if they want to send a different message. That's all in the coming future, according to Discovery News.

Following centuries of humans breeding for bigger and prettier varieties, scientists at the University of Florida in Gainesville accidentally discovered the genes to make flowers smell nicer. They found the 12 or 13 unknown genes after sequencing the genome for petunias.

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Science, Jeremy Hsu, blossoms, floral, flowers, fragrance, Genetic Engineering, scents, smells

Enhanced fragrances could also lead to better-tasting fruits and vegetables, given the link between scent and taste. Such genetically-engineered varieties won't arrive for perhaps years, and only after the Food and Drug Administration gives its seal of approval.

Scientists have already engineered flowers to help produce insulin for diabetics and offset carbon emissions. But sometimes people just want to stop and smell the GM blossoms.

[via Discovery News]