Month: May 2013

Pesticide use is up — have biotech crops backfired?

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Western corn rootworm

A recent report in the Wall Street Journal points to an overall increase pesticides and lays the blame for this increase at the feet of Monsanto’s pest-resistant Bt corn. The easy, appealingly David-versus-Goliath implication? Bt crops are backfiring now that nature has outsmarted them.

This isn’t exactly news, though. The first Bt-resistant rootworms were found in 2011, and “just to be safe” many farmers have since been spraying their fields with soil pesticides to eliminate any resistant hookworms their Bt corn might not deter. To point to the “failure” of Bt corn as the driver of increased pesticide use is to neglect the influence of farmer behavior. Corn’s worth more than ever, the amount of land devoted to corn is increasing, and as a result the amount of farmers resistant to crop rotation and devoted to preemptively spraying their crops with pesticide to hold on to their money-making corn is likely driving the increase as much as a the development of resistance in pests like the hookworm. (To be fair, the WSJ covers these points in its article, even if its headline succumbs to the “pests outwit Monsanto” narrative.)

Versions of this story seem to have appeared every few months since the first study identifying resistant hookworms in 2011, usually with the subtext of “Aha! Now we’ve got you, GM crops!”

Nobody with a basic knowledge of biology and evolution—at Monsanto or Ma and Pa’s Corn Farm—would expect any one anti-pest solution to be a permanent success of failure. The arms race between crop pests and pesticides doesn’t move at quite the same pace, say, as the blistering give-and-take of our war against bacteria, but it is the norm in agriculture. Doesn’t matter if we’re talking biotech or simple crop rotation techniques: farmers are always developing new tricks and pests are always trying to find ways around them. Rootworm beetles want to eat.

So far, this particular report from the WSJ doesn’t seem to have been picked up by the anti-GM crowd, but if (or when) it does, remember that the idea of “failure” or “backfire” in terms of a genetically modified pest-resistant crop has more to do with the overall impact it has on pesticide use and crop productivity, not on whether or not nature eventually finds a work-around. We’ve all seen Jurassic Park—we know that life finds a way. That much, as Ian Malcolm would happily tell you, is inevitable.

Biotech crops risky to consume, says former pro-GMO scientist

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A decade after retiring from his job as a research scientist at Agriculture Canada, Dr. Thierry Vrain, a former promoter of genetically modified organisms (GMO), has warned that eating biotech crops is essentially risky.

In an article on PreventDisease.com on May 6, Vrain cites Russian and European studies in saying that “diets containing engineered corn or soya cause serious health problems in laboratory mice and rats.” He adds that studies have also questioned the efficacy of proteins produced by engineered plants.

“These studies show that [these] proteins…are different [from] what they should be. Inserting a gene in a genome using [genetic-engineering] technology can and does result in damaged proteins. The scientific literature is full of studies showing that engineered corn and soya contain toxic or allergenic proteins,” Vrain says.

Genetic engineering, now 40 years old, is “based on the naive understanding of the genome, based on the ‘one gene, one protein’ hypothesis of 70 years ago that [says] each gene codes for a single protein. The Human Genome project, completed in 2002, showed that this hypothesis is wrong,” he adds. 

Read the full story: Biotech crops risky to consume, says former pro-GMO scientist

Australia: “GMO-free” certification launched

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The following is an edited excerpt. 

A new certification body for genetically modified organism free (GMO-free) foods has been launched in Australia.

‘GMO-free’ certification launched in AustraliaGMO-ID Australia, a subsidiary of accreditation body HACCP International Pty Ltd, which has specialised in product certification for the food industry since 1998, will use the ‘Cert ID Non GMO’ (Cert ID) certification system in Australia and the Pacific region.

The Cert ID system will offer a range of third party certification schemes aimed at the food industry, including farmers and growers through to manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and foodservice businesses. Certified organisations will be listed on the GMO-ID Australia website.

Read the full story: ‘GMO-free’ certification launched in Australia

The curious case of human gene patents

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The following is an excerpt.

Critics who think the U.S. Patent Office has been too liberal in awarding protection for naturally occurring phenomena like human genes are watching Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics closely for signs the U.S. Supreme Court will tighten controls in this area. It’s an easy position to sympathize with; how can someone own the rights to a human gene?

But Myriad raises tough questions, including what happens to the 100,000 or so genetic patents already awarded.

Read the full story: The Curious Case of Human Gene Patents

How genetically modifying chestnuts could bring them back

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The following is an edited excerpt. 

Around the turn of the 20th century, the forests in the eastern U.S. were dominated by the American chestnut. These “sequoia of the east” ruled the roost back then and were the cornerstone tree species. By midcentury, though, almost all of these majestic trees had been turned into shrubs. No, this wasn’t magic. Instead, a fungus arrived from Asia that prevented the trees from growing bigger than this. Nowadays the only tall chestnuts are a few that happened to be planted outside of the tree’s old range. And even some of these are starting to be done in.

Ever since the blight started stunting the chestnut, scientists have been looking for ways to help these trees fight back. And now they may finally be getting close to a solution.

There is a very clever genetic modification that involves moving a wheat gene into the American chestnut. Early studies look to be very promising and these trees have even been shown to be resistant in the field. The researchers are hoping to get approval soon from the U.S. government for widespread planting. The idea behind this method rests on the knowledge that the chestnut blight needs an acidic environment to do its dirty work. The way this little monster accomplishes this is by making and then pumping oxalic acid into the tree. This is incredibly damaging to the chestnut.

Read the full story: Saved From Living Death: How Genetically Modifying Chestnuts Could Bring Them Back

Researchers feud over Jewish genes

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The following is an excerpt.

Are Jews genetically homogenous? Though it’s certainly been a loaded question historically, the quandary has been the domain of scientists for a number of years now, all of whom have pretty much come up with the same answer: yes. But that was before Eran Elhaik entered the picture. An Israeli molecular geneticist, Elhaik is interested, it seems, not just in doing science, but in reveling in his role as a spoiler.

As a Jewish Daily Forward story recently described it, he has written a report that claims Ashkenazi Jews are descended from Khazars, a Turkic people from the Caucasus who converted to Judaism in the eighth century. This flies in the face of that established genetic research, which did prove a continuous genetic link between Ashkenazi Jews and the Middle East, positing that they descended from Jews who fled Palestine after the Muslim conquest in the seventh century.

Read the full story: Researchers Feud Over Jewish Genes

Detective story: How genomics found the culprit in Ireland’s Great Famine

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px Irish potato famine Bridget ODonnel

More than 1 million people died over the course of Ireland’s Great Famine between 1845 and 1852. We know, of course, that a blight had wiped out an entire species of potato — a staple of the Irish diet. But precisely what strain of the blight pathogen it was, exactly, had remained a mystery … until now.

Now, scientific and historical two-for-one, researchers have used dried potato leaves from herbariums to sequence the genome of the pathogen that caused the Great Famine.  The culprit was a single strain of the fungus-like pathogen Phytophthora infestans — and not the common strain that was long the prime suspect.This marks the first time scientists have used dried leaves to decode the genome of a plant pathogen.

Those worried about a resurgence of the dreaded potato blight can breathe a sigh of relief: the strain of potato blight in question is extinct.

The study opens up a new avenue of genomics research using dried leaves from herbariums, which have proven to be a good source of DNA.

Read more about the discovery in these stories:

Personal genomics and accidental paternity tests

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SCI dna CROP original original

The following is an editorial summary.

There’s a lot of information in your personal genome, and you might not want all of it. There are diseases, disorders, and dangers hidden in there. Not to mention that DNA is arguably the most accurate way to determine relationships among people — in some unfortunate circumstances, it’s more accurate than what you’ve been told by parents or other family members.

Enter the accidental paternity test. Daniel Engber at Slate starts with this specific, and unsettling, example: “First Jackie learned her brother Alex was her uncle. Then things got a little weird.” From there he explores the case of two siblings-that-weren’t who discovered the true nature of their relationship via a commercial personal genomics evaluation.

He uses this as a launching point to dive into the myriad privacy issues that surround personal genomics. What if you get a paternity test you never asked for (as is the case in Engber’s example)? What if the data that’s being gathered can be used to identify you? An excerpt:

It used to be that people chose to learn about themselves or not, and doctors helped determine which bits of information were appropriate for each of us to know. Now we’re heading for a place where secrets flow more freely, where wise consumers must play defense with the facts.

To read some counter-arguments in favor of a no-holds-barred approach to personal genomics, check out these features from Slate and PopSci. One argues that people are more intelligent and resilient than we give them credit for, and thus this rather paternal fear that people can’t handle the knowledge in their own genomes is unwarranted. The other urges a whole-hog approach to open-source genomics because the potential scientific and medical benefit of huge genetic databases far outweighs the “pipe dream” of privacy.

Read the full story here: Who’s Your Daddy? The perils of personal genomics

Additional Resources:

 

Conversion of an anti-GMO activist

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The following is an edited excerpt.

It’s my 200th blog post and I do have much to celebrate.  The record of how I went from anti-GMO blogger and science-ignorer to pro-science observer is all there in the archives.  I am leaving it there on purpose to show, first hand, how someone can be open to new information, question what they believe, and change.  If you read all the posts, which I don’t expect anyone to actually do, but if you did, you’d notice an unfolding like this:

  1. Fairly neutral beginning.  I meant well.
  2. Close scrutiny of the California Prop 37 election.
  3. Ronnie Cummins in one ear, Jeffrey Smith in the other, a little Mike Adams the health ranger thrown in there with some Johnathon Matthews (GM Watch).
  4. Full fledged anti-GMO dogma for a few months
  5. Wait a minute, I smell a rat – a tumorous Seralini rat …

Read the full story: Celebrating 200!

Where in the world are GMOs?

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Untitled

The following is an editorial summary.

Genetically modified organisms are a widespread technology. Don’t believe me? See for yourself on this handy Google Map. Put together by the folks at  KQED Science (QUEST), this Google map provides virtual push-pins and short summaries of all the major GM crops and animals in development around the world.

Some notable entries include the fast-growing AquAdvantage salmon, vitamin-enhanced Golden rice, and the nearly-extinct American chestnut.

Don’t take our word for it: play around with the map to get a sense of just how widespread and varied the genetically modified menagerie is.

View the map here: Genetically Engineered Foods in the Pipeline

View KQED Science’s GMO special: “Next Meal”

Nutritionally enhanced biotech soybeans blocked by activists

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The following is an edited excerpt. 

Monsanto has joined forces with DSM to commercialize a genetically engineered soybean oil rich in the omega-3 fatty acid SDA (stearidonic acid) that can offer a more cost-effective means of adding omega-3s to foods without the flavor, stability and shelf-life issues associated with fish oil.

 

Pathogen genome tracks Irish potato famine back to its roots

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The following is an edited excerpt.

The great potato famine of the 1840s was a defining event in Ireland’s recent history. 

Working from 150-year-old dried leaves, two competing teams have now sequenced the genome of the single-celled organism that wreaked havoc on the Irish potato crop. It is the first ancient plant pathogen to have its genome decoded.

Phytophthora infestans, which causes potato late blight, is an oomycete — a type of single-celled organism related to brown algae. Carried by infected potatoes, the disease probably arrived at the port of Antwerp in Belgium in the summer of 1845, before quickly spreading through the Low Countries and much of western Europe.

Read the full story: Pathogen genome tracks Irish potato famine back to its roots

Human genes: Has science outgrown patents?

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The following is an excerpt.

Is it right to patent human genes? Both sides in a US law case have sound legal and policy arguments in their favour. But maybe neither is wrong, writes David Galloway.

A legal tussle in the US Supreme Court over who can own gene patents like the breast cancer gene has raised fundamental questions about what can be owned.

While the combatants – the Association for Molecular Pathology and Myriad Genetics – hone their arguments, the rest of us should pause to consider how we got here and whether it’s time to change the law.

Read the full story: Has Science Outgrown Patents?

Genetic markers predict postpartum depression

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The following is an edited excerpt.

Researchers say that pregnant women may soon be able to take a blood test to identify if they have epigenetic modifications that indicate may indicate a higher risk of developing postpartum depression.

In a small study of 52 pregnant women, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found changes in certain genes which they could pick up in the blood, that distinguished women who went on to suffer from postpartum from those who did not.

The genetic changes were epigenetic modifications, which means they were not permanent alterations in the women’s genomes but instead reflected differences in the way these genes were activated.

Scientists identify ‘bad’ cholesterol genes

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A team of researchers from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute reporting online in the Journal of Lipid Research has identified 4 genes in baboons that influence levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol.

The team screened a baboon colony of 1,500 animals to find three half-siblings with low levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or ‘bad,’ cholesterol, and three half-siblings with high levels of LDL–a known risk factor for heart disease.

The team discovered that four genes named TENC1, ERBB3, ACVR1B, and DGKA, influence LDL levels. Interestingly, these four genes are part of a signaling pathway important for cell survival and disruption of this pathway promotes some types of cancer.

Read the full story here: Scientists Identify Four Genes that Influence ‘Bad’ Cholesterol

Vandana Shiva: “March against Monsanto is a march for freedom”

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The following is an edited excerpt.

On May 25, 2013, there will be a worldwide March against Monsanto. In this video, Vandana Shiva speaks about the movement against Monsanto and why it is necessary.

Shiva says, “The march against Monsanto is inspired by the love for freedom and democracy, the love for the Earth, the soil, the seed. And it is our deep love for life on Earth in freedom that makes all of us march against Monsanto and we stand in solidarity with everyone, from the Seed Freedom Movement catalyzed by Navdanya .”

View the complete video in its entirety here: Vandana Shiva and the March against Monsanto, May 25, 2013

Long-running stem cell lobbying group ending

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The following is an edited excerpt.

In a sign of how much the controversy over human embryonic stem cells has waned, the most prominent lobbying group for human embryonic stem cell research announced today that, after 12 years, it is folding. The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research will transfer its work to another group that focuses on moving human embryonic stem cell research into the clinic.

“We are in an era where the primary issues are not federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research,” wrote coalition President Amy Comstock Rick, who is also CEO of the Parkinson’s Action Network, in an e-mail to the more than 100 patient advocacy, scientific, and other groups that belong to coalition. “Given the progress we are seeing in the field of regenerative medicine, the policy issues we now see go beyond the historical focus of [the coalition].”

Even the announcement last week that researchers have achieved the long-sought goal of making personalized hESCs using cloning techniques, which opens the door to cloning a human, hasn’t sparked much activity.

Read the full story here: Stem Cell Lobbying Group Closing Its Doors After 12 Years

Gene linked to improved survival of pulmonary fibrosis

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The following is an edited excerpt.

New research, released in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that a common genetic variant in humans increases the risk of pulmonary fibrosis but also predicts better survival in idiopathic cases, researchers found.

Each copy of the studied allele was independently associated with 6.8 times higher odds of definite CT evidence of pulmonary fibrosis, according David A. Schwartz, MD, of the University of Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues.

But carrying one copy of the studied allele was also associated with 52% to 61% better odds of survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, researchers reported in a separate study online in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Carrying two copies conferred 77% to 85% better odds of survival.

As a result of these seemingly conflicting genetic findings, researchers may refocus their efforts and search for environmental factors that contribute to the development of pulmonary fibrosis.

Read the full story here: Gene Linked to Lung Fibrosis and Its Survival

UK Telegraph: Promise of GE to feed the world is overblown

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The following is an edited excerpt.

Genetic modification has so far mainly been confined to developing crops that tolerate herbicides (often manufactured by the same company, thus encouraging their use) and resist pests. They have done little to increase yields per se – though they have helped by controlling weeds and insects – while varieties designed to withstand drought and floods, and improve nutrition, are only now beginning to emerge.

GM may be able to do jobs that more conventional techniques cannot manage: conferring heat resistance to cope with global warming is one candidate. But the impression often given by its proponents that it is the main source of new crops, and thus essential to feed the world, could hardly be further from the truth.

Nor is biotechnology all GM. The Nerica rices, for example, owe their existence to cell tissue culture. Scuba rice was produced through the technique of marker-assisted selection, which identifies and enables the use of a whole sequence of genes.

Read the original article in its entirety here: The inconvenient truth about GM

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