Animal Biotechnology
Aquabounty and food activists clash over need for labels for GMO salmon
Four-and-a-half tons of genetically modified salmon have been released into the Canadian food market, and consumers have no way of ...
Is ‘dark DNA’ lurking as ‘missing’ mystery force in animal evolution?
In some animals, stretches of essential DNA seem to be missing. However, this "dark DNA" is not really missing, it's ...
Why are thousands of bumblebees dying around the fragrant Linden trees of London?
Visitors in the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens near London have reported hundreds, if not thousands of bees, especially bumblebees, sick or ...
Antibiotic use on farms could be cut by up to 80 percent globally, study finds
Almost 80% of all antibiotics in the United States aren’t taken by people. They’re given to cows, pigs, and chickens ...
CRISPR ear injections repair genetic hearing loss in mice
We all know that CRISPR is the next big thing in gene-editing treatments. But how do you get the versatile genetic scissors ...
Will ‘reviving’ extinct species lead to ecological quandaries?
The gastric brooding frog is no regular frog. Like some horror story of ancient myth, it gives birth out of ...
Hive coup? Why queen bees are sometimes killed by workers
[Editor's note: James Gilbert is a lecturer in zoology at the University of Hull.] A new study has shown that some bee workers ...
Oxitec to produce one billion Zika-fighting mosquito eggs each week
Plans to produce one billion mosquito eggs in the UK every week have been announced by a company working to ...
CRISPR may allow us to choose the color of butterfly wings
Only nature can paint the gorgeous colors and patterns on a butterfly’s wings. But scientists said... they have mastered the ...
Mystery Norwegian jelly-like blobs stump marine biologists
Giant, jelly-like blobs have been sighted off the western coast of Norway, but the identities of these mysterious objects have ...
How the ‘DNA revolution’ might change the animal breeding and meat industry
The changes that have occurred in the last three months in the genetics and genomics world have probably equaled the changes in ...
9 misdirected arguments against GMOs
When discussing GMOs, many arguments are put forth on why they are “bad” and should be avoided. A molecular geneticist ...
Some antibiotic resistance in humans may trace to feeding strategies at fish farms
The mucky sediment below fish farms usually teems with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The presence of such bacteria is a cause of ...
Viewpoint: Food security decisions—like GMO salmon approval—shouldn’t be left to pubic’s whims
[What] the [food sector] is expecting AquaBounty to do is to step out into the cold and take account of ...
Drug that reverses diabetes and obesity in mice may strengthen brittle bones
A drug that can reverse diabetes and obesity in mice may have an unexpected benefit: strengthening bones. Experiments with a ...
Xenotransplantation: Pig organ transplants into humans could be achieved as soon as 2019 in China
Chinese scientists are now desperately seeking government approval to launch a clinical trial for xenotransplantation. The goal is to have ...
Europe approves freeze-dried GMO E. coli bacteria as livestock feed supplement
French Ajinomoto Eurolysine SAS, part of the world leading producer of amino acids by fermentation, has received a positive safety ...
Podcast: How agriculture spurred the domestication of wild cats
Geneticist Eva-Maria Geigl: Early grain farms attracted rodents—and wild cats that were social enough to hunt them near human settlements ...
Bear love affair: Grizzly and polar–Interbreeding neighboring species played key role in evolution
In 2006, a hunter shot what he thought was a polar bear in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Closer examination, ...
Making leather without animals: Genetically engineered leather made from modified yeast is here
The whole leather industry, based as it is on animal hides, is vulnerable these days to sensibilities about the relationship ...
How, why and when humans became able to talk
How and when did we first become able to speak? A new analysis of our DNA reveals key evolutionary changes ...
Is sugar as addictive as hard drugs? Scientists say that’s ‘absurd’
An article suggesting that sugar should be considered an addictive substance, and could even be on a par with abusive ...
New ways to target low sperm count?
[Ahmad Khalil, Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine] and colleagues have ...
Aging breakthrough? Pruning old cells rejuvenates bone density in mice – could osteoporosis drugs be next?
Several studies have shown that pruning away old, inactive senescent cells can do wonders for aged mice, restoring their bald patches, strengthening ...
The story behind the well-funded opposition to block AquaBounty’s sustainable GMO salmon
Opposition to the world's first GMO animal approved for human consumption was fueled by a variety of sources --from quacks ...
Activists claim gene editing could exploit animals, leads to unconscionable suffering
[Editor’s Note: Peter Stevenson is the Chief Policy Advisor for the UK-based charity Compassion In World Farming] Traditional selective [animal] ...
Podcast: Global ag biotech snapshot: Is GMO adoption on the decline?
UK researcher Graham Brooke on the rising economic and regulatory costs of crop biortechnology--Is it worth it? ...