It’s hard to let go of something like sugar, which has left such an indelible mark on Hawaii. Perhaps we won’t have to. Although the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center has turned its attention to crops other than sugar, there could be reason to keep up with, and not give up on, the sweet stuff.

As reported on Wednesday, HARC is currently maintaining its accumulated research database on sugar varieties.

Perhaps the Hawaii brand has value for boutique products. And then there’s rum, which can sell well, and has history in Hawaii predating the plantations. Everything old can be new again.

Some genetic tweaking to live longer

All of us carry the so-called longevity gene, but only about 1 in 3 have a FOXO3 version strongly tied to longer, healthier life. What would happen if the gene could be tapped to open the door to potential life extension for everybody?

On Tuesday, a private-public collaboration, involving the University of Hawaii and Cardax Inc., a life sciences company based in Honolulu, announced that a UH study involving gene-related tweaking of mouse heart tissues had yielded promising results. Vassilis Syrmos, vice president of research at the university, said one day the ongoing pursuit “may help mitigate the effects of aging in humans.”

Now that’s something to look forward to.