21.   That was, until scientists at Calgene Inc. in Davis, California, introduced genetic material from a soil bacterium that can break down the chemical.

22.   The corn, known as Bt, contains a gene from a soil bacterium that makes the plant toxic to a moth larva.

23.   Last year, two Japanese tourists were detained by customs officials in New Delhi for trying to take away exotic butterfly specimens and soil bacteria from Assam.