Schwaggy P's Random Stuff

[Sugar Pops420]

Awesome work Schwaggy! ❤️❤️
Man, that’s a lot of fire!
( Any more heat for you, and they will start pointing the finger for global warming! Lol)..???????
It’s all good though, you can just send it all up here to Canada!
Pretty sure my stocking still has lots of room!…..lol??

 

[Schwaggy P]

☢️ I DID A THING ☢️​

Short Version

I forced mutations with radiation on seeds which have manifested in early veg.


Long Version

I’ve been experimenting with forced mutations (Induced Mutagenesis) secretly in an undisclosed location for the safety of myself and the broader public. This was a test to see if I could force mutations on ungerminated and recently germinated seeds (same seeds, just at different stages). This idea came to me after reading a book about Plant Mutation Breeding which described various radiation and chemical means of altering DNA. The book described many interesting methods using chemicals not available to the public and radiation methods involving specialized equipment. So I decided to come up with a DIY radiation mutation inducer. This was not a rigorous testing but just a conceptual probing to see if anything happened. I’ll have a conclusion that goes over why what you are about to see is not definitive proof, etc..

Quick background about the concept of mutation breeding:

• The idea is to alter the genetic code of the plants to gain some improved feature that is not just a “one-off” trait but can be considered a heritable trait which can be bred into successive lines. For example, when you treat a female plant with STS, that plant will manifest male anatomy and produce pollen but this is not a heritable trait that can be worked into other lines. On the other hand, bombarding a plant with radiation of specific energy and time can create mutations such as improved root growth that can be considered permanent changes that are heritable.

Method of Mutation

I decided to go with radiation instead of chemical mutagenesis. If you remember back to your high school or freshman college physics textbooks, you may know that your smoke detectors have radioactive material inside. This little piece of metal is Americium-241 and it emits a constant stream of particles. Because these particles are so weak (they pose no real threat to you as configured) and constant, any smoke particle that break the stream triggers the smoke alarm. So I just got a few smoke detectors together and harvested the Americium-241 (Am-241).



The two circles below show the Americium-241 extracted and the other two samples were left in their housing. The two in the housing are still exposed yet offer a nice place to keep the seeds along with the other extracted Am241.

​

​

I placed 11 seeds (Green Crack S1 x Chocolate Trip F4) in the setup.

At this point, I realized that I could amplify the radiation from the Am241 (well, Enrico Fermi came up with the concept, I’m just applying it). I wrapped the loose Am241 pellets with aluminum foil and coated with beeswax. The radiation interacts with the foil to release a kind of particle that excites the beeswax and “charges up” to eventually release 4 times the original radiation. This allowed me to get more gamma radiation for my small setup.

The seeds stayed in this setup and were rotated daily for about a week before going into paper towels to germinate. The Am241 were added to the paper towel and allowed to sit with the germinating seeds for 2-3 days. Once popped, the seeds were treated as any other and the Am241 was no longer involved. I just started to grow these 10 plants waiting for any observable mutations.

There was nothing to indicate any change had occurred with the speed of growth of these 10 seeds. All plants seemed normal, at first. There is one pheno that is expressing some strange structural and leaf mutations.

This plant has multiple mutated oddities



Incomplete leaf blades



Deformed and discolored leaf blades (this is the most prolific mutant trait so far) All are different leaves

​

This mutation is also manifesting on sugar leaves



The top of the plant is beginning to show more pronounced oddities. The terminal growths 1 and 4 are emerging without the presence of fan leaves (these seem to have mutated too badly to form beyond just yellow crinkles shown in the circle). The double top; The terminals 2 and 3 are showing mixed apical dominance.



Here is a better shot at the yellow crinkles. The stipules seem unaffected.


Conclusion

Is this irrefutable proof of DIY at home radiation induced mutagenesis? No. I could have germinated a control group of seeds without the radiation to compare. This could just be a one-off from the seed line. In my experience, most mutations that I've encountered (natural mutation) are very minor and don't last beyond a few nodes of the plant. I wasn't shooting for scientifically rigorous; just wanted a pseudo-"proof of concept" and to satisfy general curiosity. To that end, I'm happy and will assume the observed mutations were because of the Am241. The mutations are not targeted at all and are effectively a roll of the dice as far as what gets mutated. There is a chance this plant may accelerate the mutations to a point that actually kill the plant (leaves too mutated to photosynthesize, etc.) There may be even more oddities in the flowering stage of this plants as well as the others. There's no reason to assume that because the other 9 plants have not shown any clear mutations, that there will not be any later in the life of the plants, especially when flipped. I'll just continue growing out these seeds and watching for anything interesting. I now have a good reason to continue experimenting with this method of induced mutations with more Am241 and more rigorous side-by-side growing.

***I have no intention of releasing these mutants and I am fully aware of the ethics surrounding GMO

 

[Dino Party]

☢️ I DID A THING ☢️​

Short Version

I forced mutations with radiation on seeds which have manifested in early veg.


Long Version

I’ve been experimenting with forced mutations (Induced Mutagenesis) secretly in an undisclosed location for the safety of myself and the broader public. This was a test to see if I could force mutations on ungerminated and recently germinated seeds (same seeds, just at different stages). This idea came to me after reading a book about Plant Mutation Breeding which described various radiation and chemical means of altering DNA. The book described many interesting methods using chemicals not available to the public and radiation methods involving specialized equipment. So I decided to come up with a DIY radiation mutation inducer. This was not a rigorous testing but just a conceptual probing to see if anything happened. I’ll have a conclusion that goes over why what you are about to see is not definitive proof, etc..

Quick background about the concept of mutation breeding:

• The idea is to alter the genetic code of the plants to gain some improved feature that is not just a “one-off” trait but can be considered a heritable trait which can be bred into successive lines. For example, when you treat a female plant with STS, that plant will manifest male anatomy and produce pollen but this is not a heritable trait that can be worked into other lines. On the other hand, bombarding a plant with radiation of specific energy and time can create mutations such as improved root growth that can be considered permanent changes that are heritable.

Method of Mutation

I decided to go with radiation instead of chemical mutagenesis. If you remember back to your high school or freshman college physics textbooks, you may know that your smoke detectors have radioactive material inside. This little piece of metal is Americium-241 and it emits a constant stream of particles. Because these particles are so weak (they pose no real threat to you as configured) and constant, any smoke particle that break the stream triggers the smoke alarm. So I just got a few smoke detectors together and harvested the Americium-241 (Am-241).
View attachment 147591


The two circles below show the Americium-241 extracted and the other two samples were left in their housing. The two in the housing are still exposed yet offer a nice place to keep the seeds along with the other extracted Am241.
View attachment 147592

​

View attachment 147593

​

I placed 10 seeds (Green Crack S1 x Chocolate Thai F4) in the setup.

At this point, I realized that I could amplify the radiation from the Am241 (well, Enrico Fermi came up with the concept, I’m just applying it). I wrapped the loose Am241 pellets with aluminum foil and coated with beeswax. The radiation interacts with the foil to release a kind of particle that excites the beeswax and “charges up” to eventually release 4 times the original radiation. This allowed me to get more gamma radiation for my small setup.

The seeds stayed in this setup and were rotated daily for about a week before going into paper towels to germinate. The Am241 were added to the paper towel and allowed to sit with the germinating seeds for 2-3 days. Once popped, the seeds were treated as any other and the Am241 was no longer involved. I just started to grow these 10 plants waiting for any observable mutations.

There was nothing to indicate any change had occurred with the speed of growth of these 10 seeds. All plants seemed normal, at first. There is one pheno that is expressing some strange structural and leaf mutations.

This plant has multiple mutated oddities
View attachment 147598


Incomplete leaf blades
View attachment 147599


Deformed and discolored leaf blades (this is the most prolific mutant trait so far) All are different leaves

View attachment 147600 View attachment 147601 View attachment 147602 View attachment 147603 ​

This mutation is also manifesting on sugar leaves
View attachment 147604


The top of the plant is beginning to show more pronounced oddities. The terminal growths 1 and 4 are emerging without the presence of fan leaves (these seem to have mutated too badly to form beyond just yellow crinkles shown in the circle). The double top; The terminals 2 and 3 are showing mixed apical dominance.

View attachment 147606

Here is a better shot at the yellow crinkles. The stipules seem unaffected.
View attachment 147607

Conclusion

Is this irrefutable proof of DIY at home radiation induced mutagenesis? No. I could have germinated a control group of seeds without the radiation to compare. This could just be a one-off from the seed line. In my experience, most mutations that I've encountered (natural mutation) are very minor and don't last beyond a few nodes of the plant. I wasn't shooting for scientifically rigorous; just wanted a pseudo-"proof of concept" and to satisfy general curiosity. To that end, I'm happy and will assume the observed mutations were because of the Am241. The mutations are not targeted at all and are effectively a roll of the dice as far as what gets mutated. There is a chance this plant may accelerate the mutations to a point that actually kill the plant (leaves too mutated to photosynthesize, etc.) There may be even more oddities in the flowering stage of this plants as well as the others. There's no reason to assume that because the other 9 plants have not shown any clear mutations, that there will not be any later in the life of the plants, especially when flipped. I'll just continue growing out these seeds and watching for anything interesting. I now have a good reason to continue experimenting with this method of induced mutations with more Am241 and more rigorous side-by-side growing.

***I have no intention of releasing these mutants and I am fully aware of the ethics surrounding GMO

This is the most interesting shit I've read since I last read the culvers menu. What an awesome experiment. I look forward to seeing this continue, and I volunteer to smoke mutant flower if it needs to be tested. I won't sue if I become mutated myself.

 

[Psychobilly]

☢️ I DID A THING ☢️​

Short Version

I forced mutations with radiation on seeds which have manifested in early veg.


Long Version

I’ve been experimenting with forced mutations (Induced Mutagenesis) secretly in an undisclosed location for the safety of myself and the broader public. This was a test to see if I could force mutations on ungerminated and recently germinated seeds (same seeds, just at different stages). This idea came to me after reading a book about Plant Mutation Breeding which described various radiation and chemical means of altering DNA. The book described many interesting methods using chemicals not available to the public and radiation methods involving specialized equipment. So I decided to come up with a DIY radiation mutation inducer. This was not a rigorous testing but just a conceptual probing to see if anything happened. I’ll have a conclusion that goes over why what you are about to see is not definitive proof, etc..

Quick background about the concept of mutation breeding:

• The idea is to alter the genetic code of the plants to gain some improved feature that is not just a “one-off” trait but can be considered a heritable trait which can be bred into successive lines. For example, when you treat a female plant with STS, that plant will manifest male anatomy and produce pollen but this is not a heritable trait that can be worked into other lines. On the other hand, bombarding a plant with radiation of specific energy and time can create mutations such as improved root growth that can be considered permanent changes that are heritable.

Method of Mutation

I decided to go with radiation instead of chemical mutagenesis. If you remember back to your high school or freshman college physics textbooks, you may know that your smoke detectors have radioactive material inside. This little piece of metal is Americium-241 and it emits a constant stream of particles. Because these particles are so weak (they pose no real threat to you as configured) and constant, any smoke particle that break the stream triggers the smoke alarm. So I just got a few smoke detectors together and harvested the Americium-241 (Am-241).
View attachment 147591


The two circles below show the Americium-241 extracted and the other two samples were left in their housing. The two in the housing are still exposed yet offer a nice place to keep the seeds along with the other extracted Am241.
View attachment 147592

​

View attachment 147593

​

I placed 10 seeds (Green Crack S1 x Chocolate Trip F4) in the setup.

At this point, I realized that I could amplify the radiation from the Am241 (well, Enrico Fermi came up with the concept, I’m just applying it). I wrapped the loose Am241 pellets with aluminum foil and coated with beeswax. The radiation interacts with the foil to release a kind of particle that excites the beeswax and “charges up” to eventually release 4 times the original radiation. This allowed me to get more gamma radiation for my small setup.

The seeds stayed in this setup and were rotated daily for about a week before going into paper towels to germinate. The Am241 were added to the paper towel and allowed to sit with the germinating seeds for 2-3 days. Once popped, the seeds were treated as any other and the Am241 was no longer involved. I just started to grow these 10 plants waiting for any observable mutations.

There was nothing to indicate any change had occurred with the speed of growth of these 10 seeds. All plants seemed normal, at first. There is one pheno that is expressing some strange structural and leaf mutations.

This plant has multiple mutated oddities
View attachment 147598


Incomplete leaf blades
View attachment 147599


Deformed and discolored leaf blades (this is the most prolific mutant trait so far) All are different leaves

View attachment 147600 View attachment 147601 View attachment 147602 View attachment 147603 ​

This mutation is also manifesting on sugar leaves
View attachment 147604


The top of the plant is beginning to show more pronounced oddities. The terminal growths 1 and 4 are emerging without the presence of fan leaves (these seem to have mutated too badly to form beyond just yellow crinkles shown in the circle). The double top; The terminals 2 and 3 are showing mixed apical dominance.

View attachment 147606

Here is a better shot at the yellow crinkles. The stipules seem unaffected.
View attachment 147607

Conclusion

Is this irrefutable proof of DIY at home radiation induced mutagenesis? No. I could have germinated a control group of seeds without the radiation to compare. This could just be a one-off from the seed line. In my experience, most mutations that I've encountered (natural mutation) are very minor and don't last beyond a few nodes of the plant. I wasn't shooting for scientifically rigorous; just wanted a pseudo-"proof of concept" and to satisfy general curiosity. To that end, I'm happy and will assume the observed mutations were because of the Am241. The mutations are not targeted at all and are effectively a roll of the dice as far as what gets mutated. There is a chance this plant may accelerate the mutations to a point that actually kill the plant (leaves too mutated to photosynthesize, etc.) There may be even more oddities in the flowering stage of this plants as well as the others. There's no reason to assume that because the other 9 plants have not shown any clear mutations, that there will not be any later in the life of the plants, especially when flipped. I'll just continue growing out these seeds and watching for anything interesting. I now have a good reason to continue experimenting with this method of induced mutations with more Am241 and more rigorous side-by-side growing.

***I have no intention of releasing these mutants and I am fully aware of the ethics surrounding GMO

Yeah I'm with Dino that's pretty sweet.

So the ethics of GMO.... I feel like it would be totally ethical to take that Chem #4 X Skunk cross and cross that with GMO. I am already wondering how that Chem 4 X Skunk is gonna smell.

 

[Idlewilder]

☢️ I DID A THING ☢️​

Short Version

I forced mutations with radiation on seeds which have manifested in early veg.


Long Version

I’ve been experimenting with forced mutations (Induced Mutagenesis) secretly in an undisclosed location for the safety of myself and the broader public. This was a test to see if I could force mutations on ungerminated and recently germinated seeds (same seeds, just at different stages). This idea came to me after reading a book about Plant Mutation Breeding which described various radiation and chemical means of altering DNA. The book described many interesting methods using chemicals not available to the public and radiation methods involving specialized equipment. So I decided to come up with a DIY radiation mutation inducer. This was not a rigorous testing but just a conceptual probing to see if anything happened. I’ll have a conclusion that goes over why what you are about to see is not definitive proof, etc..

Quick background about the concept of mutation breeding:

• The idea is to alter the genetic code of the plants to gain some improved feature that is not just a “one-off” trait but can be considered a heritable trait which can be bred into successive lines. For example, when you treat a female plant with STS, that plant will manifest male anatomy and produce pollen but this is not a heritable trait that can be worked into other lines. On the other hand, bombarding a plant with radiation of specific energy and time can create mutations such as improved root growth that can be considered permanent changes that are heritable.

Method of Mutation

I decided to go with radiation instead of chemical mutagenesis. If you remember back to your high school or freshman college physics textbooks, you may know that your smoke detectors have radioactive material inside. This little piece of metal is Americium-241 and it emits a constant stream of particles. Because these particles are so weak (they pose no real threat to you as configured) and constant, any smoke particle that break the stream triggers the smoke alarm. So I just got a few smoke detectors together and harvested the Americium-241 (Am-241).
View attachment 147591


The two circles below show the Americium-241 extracted and the other two samples were left in their housing. The two in the housing are still exposed yet offer a nice place to keep the seeds along with the other extracted Am241.
View attachment 147592

​

View attachment 147593

​

I placed 11 seeds (Green Crack S1 x Chocolate Trip F4) in the setup.

At this point, I realized that I could amplify the radiation from the Am241 (well, Enrico Fermi came up with the concept, I’m just applying it). I wrapped the loose Am241 pellets with aluminum foil and coated with beeswax. The radiation interacts with the foil to release a kind of particle that excites the beeswax and “charges up” to eventually release 4 times the original radiation. This allowed me to get more gamma radiation for my small setup.

The seeds stayed in this setup and were rotated daily for about a week before going into paper towels to germinate. The Am241 were added to the paper towel and allowed to sit with the germinating seeds for 2-3 days. Once popped, the seeds were treated as any other and the Am241 was no longer involved. I just started to grow these 10 plants waiting for any observable mutations.

There was nothing to indicate any change had occurred with the speed of growth of these 10 seeds. All plants seemed normal, at first. There is one pheno that is expressing some strange structural and leaf mutations.

This plant has multiple mutated oddities
View attachment 147598


Incomplete leaf blades
View attachment 147599


Deformed and discolored leaf blades (this is the most prolific mutant trait so far) All are different leaves

View attachment 147600 View attachment 147601 View attachment 147602 View attachment 147603 ​

This mutation is also manifesting on sugar leaves
View attachment 147604


The top of the plant is beginning to show more pronounced oddities. The terminal growths 1 and 4 are emerging without the presence of fan leaves (these seem to have mutated too badly to form beyond just yellow crinkles shown in the circle). The double top; The terminals 2 and 3 are showing mixed apical dominance.

View attachment 147606

Here is a better shot at the yellow crinkles. The stipules seem unaffected.
View attachment 147607

Conclusion

Is this irrefutable proof of DIY at home radiation induced mutagenesis? No. I could have germinated a control group of seeds without the radiation to compare. This could just be a one-off from the seed line. In my experience, most mutations that I've encountered (natural mutation) are very minor and don't last beyond a few nodes of the plant. I wasn't shooting for scientifically rigorous; just wanted a pseudo-"proof of concept" and to satisfy general curiosity. To that end, I'm happy and will assume the observed mutations were because of the Am241. The mutations are not targeted at all and are effectively a roll of the dice as far as what gets mutated. There is a chance this plant may accelerate the mutations to a point that actually kill the plant (leaves too mutated to photosynthesize, etc.) There may be even more oddities in the flowering stage of this plants as well as the others. There's no reason to assume that because the other 9 plants have not shown any clear mutations, that there will not be any later in the life of the plants, especially when flipped. I'll just continue growing out these seeds and watching for anything interesting. I now have a good reason to continue experimenting with this method of induced mutations with more Am241 and more rigorous side-by-side growing.

***I have no intention of releasing these mutants and I am fully aware of the ethics surrounding GMO

Do you think different sources of radiation could produce selected outcomes? Are there differing varieties of radiation, like chemicals, or is radiation is radiation is radiation?
Cool experiment

 

[Deebs]

☢️ I DID A THING ☢️​

Short Version

I forced mutations with radiation on seeds which have manifested in early veg.


Long Version

I’ve been experimenting with forced mutations (Induced Mutagenesis) secretly in an undisclosed location for the safety of myself and the broader public. This was a test to see if I could force mutations on ungerminated and recently germinated seeds (same seeds, just at different stages). This idea came to me after reading a book about Plant Mutation Breeding which described various radiation and chemical means of altering DNA. The book described many interesting methods using chemicals not available to the public and radiation methods involving specialized equipment. So I decided to come up with a DIY radiation mutation inducer. This was not a rigorous testing but just a conceptual probing to see if anything happened. I’ll have a conclusion that goes over why what you are about to see is not definitive proof, etc..

Quick background about the concept of mutation breeding:

• The idea is to alter the genetic code of the plants to gain some improved feature that is not just a “one-off” trait but can be considered a heritable trait which can be bred into successive lines. For example, when you treat a female plant with STS, that plant will manifest male anatomy and produce pollen but this is not a heritable trait that can be worked into other lines. On the other hand, bombarding a plant with radiation of specific energy and time can create mutations such as improved root growth that can be considered permanent changes that are heritable.

Method of Mutation

I decided to go with radiation instead of chemical mutagenesis. If you remember back to your high school or freshman college physics textbooks, you may know that your smoke detectors have radioactive material inside. This little piece of metal is Americium-241 and it emits a constant stream of particles. Because these particles are so weak (they pose no real threat to you as configured) and constant, any smoke particle that break the stream triggers the smoke alarm. So I just got a few smoke detectors together and harvested the Americium-241 (Am-241).
View attachment 147591


The two circles below show the Americium-241 extracted and the other two samples were left in their housing. The two in the housing are still exposed yet offer a nice place to keep the seeds along with the other extracted Am241.
View attachment 147592

​

View attachment 147593

​

I placed 11 seeds (Green Crack S1 x Chocolate Trip F4) in the setup.

At this point, I realized that I could amplify the radiation from the Am241 (well, Enrico Fermi came up with the concept, I’m just applying it). I wrapped the loose Am241 pellets with aluminum foil and coated with beeswax. The radiation interacts with the foil to release a kind of particle that excites the beeswax and “charges up” to eventually release 4 times the original radiation. This allowed me to get more gamma radiation for my small setup.

The seeds stayed in this setup and were rotated daily for about a week before going into paper towels to germinate. The Am241 were added to the paper towel and allowed to sit with the germinating seeds for 2-3 days. Once popped, the seeds were treated as any other and the Am241 was no longer involved. I just started to grow these 10 plants waiting for any observable mutations.

There was nothing to indicate any change had occurred with the speed of growth of these 10 seeds. All plants seemed normal, at first. There is one pheno that is expressing some strange structural and leaf mutations.

This plant has multiple mutated oddities
View attachment 147598


Incomplete leaf blades
View attachment 147599


Deformed and discolored leaf blades (this is the most prolific mutant trait so far) All are different leaves

View attachment 147600 View attachment 147601 View attachment 147602 View attachment 147603 ​

This mutation is also manifesting on sugar leaves
View attachment 147604


The top of the plant is beginning to show more pronounced oddities. The terminal growths 1 and 4 are emerging without the presence of fan leaves (these seem to have mutated too badly to form beyond just yellow crinkles shown in the circle). The double top; The terminals 2 and 3 are showing mixed apical dominance.

View attachment 147606

Here is a better shot at the yellow crinkles. The stipules seem unaffected.
View attachment 147607

Conclusion

Is this irrefutable proof of DIY at home radiation induced mutagenesis? No. I could have germinated a control group of seeds without the radiation to compare. This could just be a one-off from the seed line. In my experience, most mutations that I've encountered (natural mutation) are very minor and don't last beyond a few nodes of the plant. I wasn't shooting for scientifically rigorous; just wanted a pseudo-"proof of concept" and to satisfy general curiosity. To that end, I'm happy and will assume the observed mutations were because of the Am241. The mutations are not targeted at all and are effectively a roll of the dice as far as what gets mutated. There is a chance this plant may accelerate the mutations to a point that actually kill the plant (leaves too mutated to photosynthesize, etc.) There may be even more oddities in the flowering stage of this plants as well as the others. There's no reason to assume that because the other 9 plants have not shown any clear mutations, that there will not be any later in the life of the plants, especially when flipped. I'll just continue growing out these seeds and watching for anything interesting. I now have a good reason to continue experimenting with this method of induced mutations with more Am241 and more rigorous side-by-side growing.

***I have no intention of releasing these mutants and I am fully aware of the ethics surrounding GMO

Interesting information @Schwaggy P ! I was really intrigued by your experiment. If I recall, I thought there were 2 main types of radiation: non-ionizing, and ionizing. Figured you were talking of ionizing radiation as it enough energy potential, it can break chemical bonds causing DNA, and chromosomal dmg. Just amazed at the impact, even at that level the response you have is definitely visible. Are there certain targets you are looking to validate in flower? Growth, abnormalities, sterility etc?

This brings some other things to mind also! Thinking Radon. Many use their basements, and may unknowingly have plants react to that without any other input change.

 

[HydroRed]

☢️ I DID A THING ☢️​

Short Version

I forced mutations with radiation on seeds which have manifested in early veg.


Long Version

I’ve been experimenting with forced mutations (Induced Mutagenesis) secretly in an undisclosed location for the safety of myself and the broader public. This was a test to see if I could force mutations on ungerminated and recently germinated seeds (same seeds, just at different stages). This idea came to me after reading a book about Plant Mutation Breeding which described various radiation and chemical means of altering DNA. The book described many interesting methods using chemicals not available to the public and radiation methods involving specialized equipment. So I decided to come up with a DIY radiation mutation inducer. This was not a rigorous testing but just a conceptual probing to see if anything happened. I’ll have a conclusion that goes over why what you are about to see is not definitive proof, etc..

Quick background about the concept of mutation breeding:

• The idea is to alter the genetic code of the plants to gain some improved feature that is not just a “one-off” trait but can be considered a heritable trait which can be bred into successive lines. For example, when you treat a female plant with STS, that plant will manifest male anatomy and produce pollen but this is not a heritable trait that can be worked into other lines. On the other hand, bombarding a plant with radiation of specific energy and time can create mutations such as improved root growth that can be considered permanent changes that are heritable.

Method of Mutation

I decided to go with radiation instead of chemical mutagenesis. If you remember back to your high school or freshman college physics textbooks, you may know that your smoke detectors have radioactive material inside. This little piece of metal is Americium-241 and it emits a constant stream of particles. Because these particles are so weak (they pose no real threat to you as configured) and constant, any smoke particle that break the stream triggers the smoke alarm. So I just got a few smoke detectors together and harvested the Americium-241 (Am-241).
View attachment 147591


The two circles below show the Americium-241 extracted and the other two samples were left in their housing. The two in the housing are still exposed yet offer a nice place to keep the seeds along with the other extracted Am241.
View attachment 147592

​

View attachment 147593

​

I placed 11 seeds (Green Crack S1 x Chocolate Trip F4) in the setup.

At this point, I realized that I could amplify the radiation from the Am241 (well, Enrico Fermi came up with the concept, I’m just applying it). I wrapped the loose Am241 pellets with aluminum foil and coated with beeswax. The radiation interacts with the foil to release a kind of particle that excites the beeswax and “charges up” to eventually release 4 times the original radiation. This allowed me to get more gamma radiation for my small setup.

The seeds stayed in this setup and were rotated daily for about a week before going into paper towels to germinate. The Am241 were added to the paper towel and allowed to sit with the germinating seeds for 2-3 days. Once popped, the seeds were treated as any other and the Am241 was no longer involved. I just started to grow these 10 plants waiting for any observable mutations.

There was nothing to indicate any change had occurred with the speed of growth of these 10 seeds. All plants seemed normal, at first. There is one pheno that is expressing some strange structural and leaf mutations.

This plant has multiple mutated oddities
View attachment 147598


Incomplete leaf blades
View attachment 147599


Deformed and discolored leaf blades (this is the most prolific mutant trait so far) All are different leaves

View attachment 147600 View attachment 147601 View attachment 147602 View attachment 147603 ​

This mutation is also manifesting on sugar leaves
View attachment 147604


The top of the plant is beginning to show more pronounced oddities. The terminal growths 1 and 4 are emerging without the presence of fan leaves (these seem to have mutated too badly to form beyond just yellow crinkles shown in the circle). The double top; The terminals 2 and 3 are showing mixed apical dominance.

View attachment 147606

Here is a better shot at the yellow crinkles. The stipules seem unaffected.
View attachment 147607

Conclusion

Is this irrefutable proof of DIY at home radiation induced mutagenesis? No. I could have germinated a control group of seeds without the radiation to compare. This could just be a one-off from the seed line. In my experience, most mutations that I've encountered (natural mutation) are very minor and don't last beyond a few nodes of the plant. I wasn't shooting for scientifically rigorous; just wanted a pseudo-"proof of concept" and to satisfy general curiosity. To that end, I'm happy and will assume the observed mutations were because of the Am241. The mutations are not targeted at all and are effectively a roll of the dice as far as what gets mutated. There is a chance this plant may accelerate the mutations to a point that actually kill the plant (leaves too mutated to photosynthesize, etc.) There may be even more oddities in the flowering stage of this plants as well as the others. There's no reason to assume that because the other 9 plants have not shown any clear mutations, that there will not be any later in the life of the plants, especially when flipped. I'll just continue growing out these seeds and watching for anything interesting. I now have a good reason to continue experimenting with this method of induced mutations with more Am241 and more rigorous side-by-side growing.

***I have no intention of releasing these mutants and I am fully aware of the ethics surrounding GMO

Schwaggy P's always into something. Im curious to see how the affected plant shows in flower since the mutations dont seem to be clearing up.
I know you know what youre doing, just be safe lol

 

[DopeDaniel]

Interesting information @Schwaggy P ! I was really intrigued by your experiment. If I recall, I thought there were 2 main types of radiation: non-ionizing, and ionizing. Figured you were talking of ionizing radiation as it enough energy potential, it can break chemical bonds causing DNA, and chromosomal dmg. Just amazed at the impact, even at that level the response you have is definitely visible. Are there certain targets you are looking to validate in flower? Growth, abnormalities, sterility etc?

This brings some other things to mind also! Thinking Radon. Many use their basements, and may unknowingly have plants react to that without any other input change.

My untreated well water is 11,200 PCi/L, I did run it in a f/d set-up but had issues I moreso attributed to mineral content.

 

[Psychobilly]

Schwaggy P's always into something. Im curious to see how the affected plant shows in flower since the mutations dont seem to be clearing up.
I know you know what youre doing, just be safe lol

View attachment 147641

He looks odd without his Mop, cleaning up classrooms.... LOL

 

[RookieBuds]

Funny voice-text fail I thought you'd appreciate ?

 

[Frimpong]

Gotta fuck around to find out . Love it @Schwaggy P

 

[Sugar Pops420]

Yup! You gotta hand it to him!… When Schwaggy “ Does a Thing…” it really is a SOMETHING!..(<—- BIG)
I Truly admire his efforts and more, his willingness to share his findings and help us all learn, even if it is vicariously!
Huge Kudos @Schwaggy P and Merry Christmas to you and yours!?????

 

[Schwaggy P]

This is the most interesting shit I've read since I last read the culvers menu. What an awesome experiment. I look forward to seeing this continue, and I volunteer to smoke mutant flower if it needs to be tested. I won't sue if I become mutated myself.

The Culver's menu is pretty engaging

 

[Schwaggy P]

Do you think different sources of radiation could produce selected outcomes?

From the “at-home” level of this type of thing, there is really no way for selecting outcomes. It’s really just a spray-and-pray approach. You may end up with tons of useless, detrimental, or unobservable mutations just as easily as something really great. Ideally, a plant with a mutated trichome production that literally oozes off the buds would be great but there’s no way to target specific sections of DNA with a DIY setup.

Are there differing varieties of radiation, like chemicals, or is radiation is radiation is radiation?

There are different types of radiation, though not as varied as different chemicals. They vary in type and intensity; usual types you deal with are electromagnetic (gamma rays, x-rays, etc.) and particulate radiation (alpha, beta). We are exposed to radioactivity all the time from the sun (full spectrum of electromagnetic radiation) to naturally occurring minerals all around you (alpha/beta decay) as well as some isotopes within your body. The problems arise with relative strength, dosage, and exposure time.

 

[Schwaggy P]

If I recall, I thought there were 2 main types of radiation: non-ionizing, and ionizing. Figured you were talking of ionizing radiation as it enough energy potential, it can break chemical bonds causing DNA, and chromosomal dmg.

The ionizing radiation is “the good stuff” as far as forcing mutations and I was able to amplify the gamma (stronger than the alpha) radiation from the Am241. I remember coming across info that stated one minute of exposure to the Am241 (without amplification) is roughly equal to 20 minutes of exposure to direct intense sunlight. With the amplification, the seeds' exposure in the setup for one week was roughly equivalent to 1.5yrs of uninterrupted intense sun exposure.

Are there certain targets you are looking to validate in flower? Growth, abnormalities, sterility etc?

Unfortunately, no. There’s really no way to target this for specific purposes. This really just comes down to luck in finding something beneficial (large leap in potency of valuable chemotypes, stronger mold/disease resistance, etc.) For example, this mutant plant may begin to form multiple tops with less leaf sets that could be considered a self defoliating plant. If this proves to be the case, then that may be considered an improvement by larger sized grows who practice defoliation (assuming no detrimental mutations accompany). My interest in this was mostly just to see if mutations on such a cheap and accessible scale was possible. Considering the inability to aim for specific ends, it just comes down to "you'll know it when you see it".

 

[Willie]

Ionization radiation........I need to buy a vowel here......

 

[Trichitect]

This is some really intriguing stuff @Schwaggy P .
I remember learning in school that radiation had the most significant effect on rapidly dividing cells, which is why it's so effective against cancer, and on the flip side why it's so dangerous to young children. If that is true, it seems that you get more of an impact from the radiation on the seed if it were exposed as soon as it begins to sprout (when the cells are dividing the fastest).
I'm really curious as to what the odds are that you'd actually find a mutation that is beneficial to the grower, and still allows the plant be healthy.
I look forward to seeing more of your results! ?

 

[spyralout]

15 years ago before I started growing, a guy told me that he never bought fem seeds cuz he’d put the regs under T5s for 2 weeks and they always turned out fems. He was a pretty reputable guy, but I always questioned this theory. Is this a similar concept?

I know this is an aquatic forum but it talks about Photosynthetically Usable Radiation (PUR) and has some interesting conversations:

T5 Photosynthetically Usable Radiation (PUR) Ratings

I'm still unpacking lab gear and found some T5 lamps. As a lark, I checked PUR with the Seneye device and found a cool white to rate at 60% and an actinic at 82%. If Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (or PAR, if you will) are the same, we can develop a hypothesis that the actinic lamps are 22%...

www.reef2reef.com

And super cool experiment Schwaggy. Thank you for sharing ?

 

[Schwaggy P]

Bruce Banner #3


NYC Piff

 

[Schwaggy P]

Green Crack - day 49 (she could be cut now but I'll give her a few extra days)