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Our interactive GLP global map explains the status of each country’s regulations for human and agricultural gene editing and gene drives.
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Month: October 2012

Monsanto expands biotech wheat field tests, anti-GM activists unhappy

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The Monsanto Co. has nearly tripled the acreage of its permitted field tests for genetically engineered wheat in 2012, bringing the total to 900 acres, according to USDA data. Last year, the biotech developer obtained permits for 360 acres of transgenic wheat field tests, its first since 2004, when the company shelved plans for a glyphosate-resistant variety of the crop. Experts say the expanding field tests indicate Monsanto is making progress in its development of new biotech wheat cultivars, though commercialization is still up to a decade away.

View the original article here: Monsanto Expands Biotech Wheat Field Tests

Geneticists take on Dr. Oz’s anti-science attack on GM foods

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In a recent program, the Dr. Oz Show aired graphic images of tumor-riddled laboratory rats and charts implying associations with the use of biotechnology crops and alleged increases in human health issues ranging from ulcerative colitis to gastrointestinal disorders. Academic and science health experts, invited to appear on the program, informed the program producers that the graphics provided by Jeffrey Smith, a well known anti-GM campaigner, were based on discredited studies and had no medical relevance but were ignored.

View the original article here: Geneticists take on Dr. Oz’s anti-science attack on GM foods

Agricultural biotechnology is under attack … again, says pro-GM supporter

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Attacks against agricultural biotechnology have increased noticeably this fall within the United States and around the world. It appears that activists who oppose genetically modified crops are advancing their causes more aggressively than ever before.

View the original article here: Agricultural biotechnology is under attack … again, says pro-GM supporter

Gene mutation can stop sperm from swimming

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A gene mutation has been associated with sperm motility and production, offering new insights into male infertility.

Researchers in Australia and the UK found that mice with a mutated copy of the gene RABL2 had sperm with tails that were 17 percent shorter than normal, making them less able to ‘swim’. The mutated gene also led to a 50 percent decrease in sperm production, the results showed.

View the original article here: Set adrift: gene mutation can stop sperm from swimming

Personalized genomic medicine: How much can it really empower patients? – Science Codex

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Personalized genomic medicine is hailed as a revolution that will empower patients to take control of their own health care, but it could end up taking control away from patients and limiting their treatment choices, concludes an article in the Hastings Center Report. A commentary responding to the article, by the editorial director of Health and Family at Consumer Reports, also appears in the journal.

View the original article here: Personalized genomic medicine: How much can it really empower patients? – Science Codex

Developing stem cell model for Gaucher disease and neurodegenerative conditions

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A new method of using adult stem cells as a model for the hereditary condition Gaucher disease could help accelerate the discovery of new, more effective therapies for this and other conditions such as Parkinson’s, according to new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

View the original article here: Developing stem cell model for Gaucher disease, neurodegenerative conditions – Medical Xpress

Mystery of nematode pest-resistant soybeans cracked

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For 50 years, the world’s soybean crop has depended on the use of cyst nematode resistant varieties of beans, but no one knew how these plants fought off the nematode pests. Now, the secrets of resistant soybean plants are finally coming to light. Surprisingly, one of the genes related to nematode resistance in soybeans also has been associated with human diseases including lymphocytic leukemia, spina bifida and cardiovascular disease, according to a team of University of Missouri researchers and their colleagues whose breakthrough was recently published in the journal Nature.

View the original article here: Mystery of nematode pest-resistant soybeans cracked

Study identifies multipotent and unipotent stem cells that contribute to prostate postnatal development

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Publication in Nature Cell Biology advanced on line publication: researchers at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, ULB identify multipotent and unipotent Stem Cells (SCs) that contribute to prostate postnatal development.

One of the key questions in biology is the identification of stem cells responsible for tissue morphogenesis and regeneration.

In a study published in Nature Cell Biology, researchers lead by Cédric Blanpain, MD/PhD, Welbio investigator and Professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, identify novel classes of prostate SCs that ensure the development of the different cell lineages of the prostate.

View the original article here: Study identifies multipotent and unipotent stem cells that contribute to … – News-Medical.net

Vietnam: GM crops key to future food security say experts

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Genetically modified (GM) crops will help Viet Nam achieve food security in the years to come when the demand for food rises further, experts said at a seminar held in HCM City yesterday.

Organised by University of Agriculture and Forestry and Monsanto, a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products, the seminar discussed the pros and cons of growing GM crops.

Rashmi Nair, director of Regulatory Policy&Scientific Affairs in Emerging Markets of the Monsanto Company, said that bio-technology had given the world a new tool to improve food security.

View the original article here: Vietnam: GM crops key to future food security say experts

New life for the dead: Stem cells from corpses’ scalps

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Death will come for us all one day, but life will not fade from our bodies all at once. After our lungs stop breathing, our hearts stop beating, our minds stop racing, our bodies cool, and long after our vital signs cease, little pockets of cells can live for days, even weeks. Now scientists have harvested such cells from the scalps and brain linings of human corpses and reprogrammed them into stem cells.

In other words, dead people can yield living cells that can be converted into any cell or tissue in the body.

As such, this work could help lead to novel stem cell therapies and shed light on a variety of mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, autism and bipolar disorder, which may stem from problems with development, researchers say.

View the original article here: New life for the dead: Stem cells from corpses’ scalps – NBCNews.com (blog)

EU food safety agency defends itself against GMO claims

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The European Food Safety Authority has defended itself after claims that it is has links with the biotech industry that bring into questions its ability to act independently.  The accusations emerged recently after a study by the University of Caen claimed to show that rats fed on Monsanto GM sweetcorn, died prematurely.  The EU food agency stated that the study provided insufficient evidence and called for more in depth analysis to be carried out.

View the original article here: EU food safety agency defends itself against GMO claims – FreshPlaza

Greenpeace warns Philippines’ ‘relentless’ approval of GMO crops will lead to food crisis

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In Southeast Asia, the Philippines has so far the most number of genetically modified (GMO) crops approved by the government for human consumption, animal feed, propagation, and field trial, according to Greenpeace. But the international environmental group said that instead of addressing the country’s problem on food security, the propagation of GMOs in the Philippines will lead to food crisis” because inputs for the crops are dependent on supplies controlled by giant agro-chemical corporations.

View the original article here: Greenpeace warns Philippines’ ‘relentless’ approval of GMO crops …

The $1000 Genome is here – are we ready?

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The era of the $1000 genome, which is all but upon us already, is a new era of predictive and personalized medicine during which the cost of full genome sequencing for an individual or patient drops to roughly $1,000.

Think about what personalized medicine can do: having access to your own genome information will open the doors to dozens of men and women wishing to find out if they have gene variants associated with Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease or cancer. In some circumstances this genome map will also help your doctor determine which drugs you should consider taking and at what dosage, which if accurate enough would be much more efficient than the current approach. Sounds great doesn’t it?

View the original article here: The $1000 Genome is here – are we ready? – Scientific American (blog)

Can genetic tests help you build a better workout?

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Do we really need a test to tell us whether our genes are sabotaging our efforts to get fit?

A burgeoning industry is being built on the promise that genetic tests can predict how individuals are likely to respond to exercise and at which types of physical activity they may do best, an alluring concept for those who have struggled to get fit for years and never seem to see the same results as others.

View the original article here: Can genetic tests help you build a better workout? – Globe and Mail

GM food: We can no longer afford to ignore its advantages, says pro-GM supporter

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Given the crises facing the planet, with the population set to reach the 9 billion mark by 2050 and increasing strains being placed on water, energy and food supplies, it would be wrong to hope there could be a single solution to the storms that lie ahead. As the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir John Beddington, once put it in an Observer interview: “There will be no silver bullet.”

However, the population biologist added a crucial caveat. It would also be foolish not to make the maximum use of the new technologies that we are developing in order to alleviate some of the worst dangers we will face in the decades that lie ahead.

View the original article here: GM food: we can no longer afford to ignore its advantages – The Guardian

Stem cell researcher Moriguchi admits to lying about clinical trial

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Japanese researcher Hisashi Moriguchi in a news conference admitted that he had lied about several circumstances regarding his involvement in a clinical trial making use of stem cells. Kyodo News earlier reported the world’s first clinical application that makes use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) in the U.S. which Moriguchi was supposedly involved in. But upon further research by the news agency, it was revealed that Moriguchi’s claims were untrue.

Moriguchi has claimed that on February 2012, he took part in a clinical trial performed on six patients, including a man with heart-failure, in the Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. The procedure is claimed to have harvested immature cells from the patient’s liver which were used to create iPS cells which can turn into any type of body well, in this case, heart cells which were injected into the man’s heart. However, the hospital has released a statement saying that they have no record of Moriguchi performing any such procedure or applying for approval for the procedure. In fact, they believe that the heart-failure patient that the researcher is citing might not exist at all. There was also no request to hold any such clinical trial, which must be reviewed and approved by the hospital’s board before being carried out.

View the original article here: Stem cell researcher Moriguchi admits to lying about clinical trial – The Japan Daily Press

Scientists dash hopes for dinosaur cloning

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Well this might put a crimp in Steven Spielberg’s plans to make “Jurassic Park IV.” A team of scientists in Australia and New Zealand has concluded that cloning dinosaurs just isn’t possible because DNA would not be viable after millions of years.
 
In a paper published October 10 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the scientists reveal that DNA has a half-life of 521 years. That means that even fossilized or carefully preserved DNA would break down half way in a little over five centuries, then another half every 521 years.

View the original article here: Scientists dash hopes for dinosaur cloning – Mother Nature Network