io9 
Oct 27, 2008 1:30 PM
1,263
This gorgeous, genetically-engineered tomato gets its deep purple color from Snapdragon flower genes. But European researchers didn't just splice those genes into the tomato for aesthetic reasons. In a recent issue of Nature, the researchers write that Snapdragon transgenes also boosted the tomato's natural anthocyanin levels by threefold, which means the fruit now has the antioxidant properties of a blackberry or blueberry. Cancer-susceptible mice eating the purple transgenic tomatoes had far longer lifespans than those who didn't. [via The Biotech Weblog]
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