New Breeding Techniques (NBTs)

Public opposition to promising CRISPR gene-editing technology is ‘tragic,’ biotech experts say
In one version of the future, beef and dairy animals are disease-free, fruits and vegetables are resistant to viruses, potatoes ...

Podcast: Here’s why scientists don’t call genetically modified plants ‘GMOs’
GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, and CRISPR – which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, are used to ...

Rebellion against Europe’s ‘innovation-killing’ crop gene editing regulations grows among scientists, frustrated member states
Will Europe continue to be a science backwater? Does gene editing have a future in this part of the world? ...

With gene editing tightly regulated, little-known 1980s NASA experiments inspire new crop development in Europe
Last year’s European Court of Justice ruling makes gene editing....a form of genetic engineering....This will, of course, mean it’ll be ...

CRISPR gene editing: Using ‘nature’s own tools’ to combat food waste and climate change
A new technique is sneaking in our lives, potentially changing the foods we eat every day. From growing resilient crops, ...

New gene analysis technique identifies natural disease resistance in wheat to protect against fast-spreading stem rust
Stem rust has devastated wheat for centuries....Now a virulent strain is spreading from Africa. Even as wheat crops wither and ...

‘Good enough to eat?’ Australian plant scientist battles ‘fake news’ about GMOs with new book
Scientists must speak out about the benefits of new genetic technologies such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and gene editing, ...

Inside Nigeria’s efforts to protect its cowpea harvest with nation’s first genetically engineered seeds
The release of the GM cowpea will significantly improve livelihoods. But not everyone is happy ...

CRISPR used to fight virus hiding inside banana genome
Genome editing has been used to destroy a virus that lurks inside many of the bananas grown in Africa. Other ...

Question of liability: Why researchers are worried about Uganda’s new biotech act
Uganda’s Genetic Engineering Regulatory Act has sent a cold chill down the spines of scientists who dream of creating new ...

CRISPR could make wheat safe for people with Celiac disease
Research in the Netherlands and at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in the UK has found that gene-editing ...

Agriculture commissioner says EU must decide if ‘science or politics’ will drive gene-edited crop regulations
The European governments have to decide whether science or politics are applied when it comes to issues such as new ...

Talking Biotech: Regulating gene-edited animals as drugs will stifle food innovation
Animal gene editing could revolutionize food production. But FDA regulation stands in the way ...

CRISPR-edited chickens are coming: Can they stop a bird flu epidemic?
Humans don’t usually get the flu directly from animals, but human outbreaks of bird and swine flu can and do ...

Can ‘heart-healthy,’ gene-edited soybeans build consumer trust in new biotech crops?
This fall, soybeans grown by 78 farmers in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa churned out of combine augers into awaiting ...

Proposed U.S. regulation of gene-edited food animals is not fit for purpose
Both plant and animal breeders need access to gene editing tools to introduce sustainability traits ...

UK’s John Innes Centre seeks approval to test gene-edited wheat designed to combat anemia
Researchers at the John Innes Centre have applied to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for consent ...

Peach-flavored strawberries, disease-resistant bananas? How genetic engineering is shaking up our fruit supply
New [fruit] varieties created through genetic editing and engineering promise to beat disease, and offer enticing new flavors. ... Genetically ...

What’s going to happen in farm biotech in 2019? Gene-edited foods; lab-grown meat surges; CRISPR regulation clarity
These are the trends I expect to define biotech in agriculture during 2019. ...

Video: EU Parliament member calls for ‘pragmatic’ debate about crop gene editing in Europe
Dutch MEP Jan Huitema spoke before the Agriculture Committee of the EU Parliament on January 7. He called for a ...

CRISPR-edited plants aren’t GMOs—and 4 other essential facts about gene editing
If you’ve been stunned by all the alarming reports of gene-edited babies, you might have the impression that the only ...

New Zealand’s strict GMO laws force researcher to test new gene-edited apple in US
The red-fleshed apples developed by Plant and Food Research’s scientist Professor Andrew Allan and his team are so contentious they’re ...

EU has ‘no plans’ to revise its strict regulations on gene-edited crops, European Commission official says
A European Commission official said [January 7] that Brussels has no plans to “put forward new legislative proposals” on genetically ...

CRISPR crops poised to revolutionize our diets by increasing fiber, vitamins and ‘good oils’
Many of today’s most prevalent health issues .... trace back to .... the food we eat. The leading cause of death ...

Audio: Crash course on the CRISPR-edited foods headed for grocery stores
Genetically modified organisms, GMOs, have been common on American farms for years. But a new generation of gene-edited food, through ...

CRISPR gene editing could turn wild plants into productive food crops
The lantern-shaped groundcherry, with its distinctive paper-thin husk, tomato-like texture and flavor akin to kiwi, seems to deserve a place ...

While AquaBounty’s GMO salmon remains blocked in US, Argentina exempts the company’s sustainable gene-edited tilapia from regulation
Transgenic salmon producer AquaBounty and its majority owner, Intrexon, [December 18] announced that their jointly developed gene-edited line of tilapia, ...

Gene-edited animals could improve agricultural productivity. But could there be unintended consequences?
The purported birth [in November] of the world’s first gene-edited human babies .... spurred a wave of global outrage .... [T]he ...