Bad news for banana lovers – scientists have warned that the fruit could face extinction, after a fungal disease outbreak. Crops of the Cavendish banana have been hit by an infection called Panama disease, with those in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and central America particularly badly affected. The disease, which is also known as banana wilt, starts in the roots of the banana tree and then spreads through its vascular system. Ultimately, it stops the plant from absorbing water or carrying out photosynthesis, eventually killing the tree. For Cavendish banana growers, it could spell disaster. While there are more than 1,000 varieties of bananas, about 47 per cent that humans eat are Cavendish. Cavendish has historically dominated the global banana market since the 1950s, partly because of its resistance to the main banana-killing diseases. It also has a long shelf life, making it more attractive for international import and export, and the plant also produces more bananas than other varieties on the same amount of land. Part of the reason scientists think it could be endangered is because of what happened to another popular banana variety called the Gros Michel. Gros Michel was the main export banana in the early 20th century, but was practically wiped out by a predecessor disease to the one hitting Cavendishes now. The first infections of Gros Michel farms began in the late 19th century and took several decades to affect production to the point where growers were looking for a new variety to sell. Cavendish, meanwhile, was first hit by the current strain of Panama disease in 1997, and it has now spread across several continents. However, scientists are working on a genetically modified version of the banana to fight to infection. James Dale, a professor and leader of the banana biotechnology program at Queensland University of Technology, is working on the project. He told Insider: “The disease moves slowly, so we have at least a decade before the impact is drastic.” “I would say with certainty that there will be a solution before the export market for Cavendish is severely affected.” Let’s hope he’s right. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Elon Musk has shared his thoughts on whether aliens really exist out there in the universe. The 52-year-old billionaire is CEO of SpaceX, which manufactures and launches rockets into space with the "goal of enabling people to live on other planets," and now he's given his take on whether there is life beyond Earth. Musk appeared via video link at the International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday (October 5) where his ambition to launch his Starship spacecraft to Mars was discussed, along with what future endeavours into space will look like. While aliens were also mentioned, Musk said he has seen "no evidence" they exist. "People often ask me if I’ve seen any evidence of aliens and I unfortunately have seen no evidence of aliens yet," Musk said. "We are the aliens, as far as I can tell." He added: "And I think if anyone would know, it would probably be me, and I’ve not seen any evidence of aliens. "So, what that perhaps suggests is that this tiny candle of consciousness that is humanity is all that exists in a vast darkness, and we should do everything we can to ensure that the candle does not go out." It's not the first time Musk has discussed this topic as he shared a similar opinion during an interview in April with with then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson. However, he added that if knew aliens were real he would tweet this information out to the world. "I'm, you know, very familiar with space stuff," he said. "I’ve seen no evidence of aliens. I would immediately tweet it out. "That’d be probably the top tweet of all time. 'We found one, guys!' It's the jackpot with some 8billion likes." Definitely worth keeping an eye on Musk's tweets then, you know, just in case... Meanwhile, the business magnate has claimed he is in fact an alien himself. "I keep telling people I’m an alien, but no one believes me," Musk recently tweeted. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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