Science Controversies
Viewpoint: Why the FDA should not be regulating genetically engineered animals (as drugs, no less)
[Editor's note: Henry Miller is founding director of the FDA's Office of Biotechnology. John Cohrssen is former counsel to the White ...
Canada approves 3 Simplot GMO potatoes that resist blight, reduce fungicide use by half
Three types of potatoes genetically engineered by an Idaho company to resist the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine ...
Now under attack for minute glyphosate residues in its ice cream, is Ben and Jerry’s a victim or the culprit?
[July 2017], the New York Times reported that Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream products “have tested positive for glyphosate,” a widely ...
Pioneering gene therapy restores vision to people with rare retinal blindness
Spark Therapeutics is moving forward with its treatment for a type of inherited retinal dystrophy. In the wake of the ...
Sustainable wheat: New GMO variety could reduce need for fertilizers, preserve phosphorus
One of the troubles with agriculture is the need for farmers to apply fertilizer. The plants don't soak up all ...
28-years in development, GMO salmon now on sale in Canada–while US caught in labeling battle
The AquaBounty salmon, called AquAdvantage, is an Atlantic salmon that contains a growth hormone gene from a Chinook salmon...In the ...
Podcast: Can the food we eat change our RNA and the way genes work?
Molecular biologist Ken Witwer: Can the food we eat change our RNA and the way our genes work? ...
When genetic engineering is the environmentally friendly choice
The newest generation of genetically engineered crops, using CRISPR gene editing, can help farmers fight pests with only minimal changes ...
25 environmental benefits of GMO sugar? Industry launching ‘fresh look’ education campaign
To try to change consumers’ understanding and perception of GMO crops, the nation’s sugar beet industry is preparing a $4 ...
How to prevent a ‘mistake’ with release of gene-edited mosquitoes? On-off switches
So, you’ve genetically engineered a malaria-resistant mosquito, now what? How many mosquitos would you need to replace the disease-carrying wild ...
Non-genetic factors may play significant role in species evolution
An unspoken frustration for evolutionary biologists over the past 100 years, says Craig Albertson at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, ...
Genetic Literacy Project’s Top 6 Stories for the Week – August 7, 2017
Designer babies? US scientists swap DNA in embryos, replacing mutation that causes heart problems | Ricki Lewis Food Evolution director Scott Hamilton ...
Turkey approves GMO corn, soybeans for animal feed
Turkey’s Biosecurity Council has approved the use of three types of genetically modified soybeans and one type of genetically modified ...
Canned tomato soup: How genetic ‘profiling’ makes it tastier, healthier and safer—at a bargain price
Over the past several years, billions of dollars have been poured into the ongoing research and development effort to improve ...
Vitamin-enhanced golden bananas could save millions of African lives—and corporations won’t own the patent
Bananas are one of the world's staple crops. In West Africa, they're as important to the local diet as rice ...
Understanding how CRISPR works: The basics
CRISPR stands for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.” Those repeats are elements of the genetic code in DNA. Cas9 is an enzyme that ...
Plant breeders call for sharing university seed patents to spur crop research, innovation
Universities need to get better at sharing patented seeds and other products of publicly-funded agricultural science if the United States ...
Kenya approves GMO corn and cotton field trials, defying health minister
The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) [of Kenya] has defied the Health ministry and announced field trials for GMO crops.... Speaking ...
Retracted: Controversial study claiming alternative gene editor NgAgo superior to CRISPR
The author of a 2016 paper describing a potentially invaluable lab tool has retracted it, following heavy criticism from outside ...
Infographic: How crops are genetically modified to resist plant viruses
Plant viruses can be serious pathogens in crops as they can cause anywhere from minor losses to total crop failure ...
Bio-weapons for good: Chemicals and genetics could battle havoc-creating zebra mussels
[Kenny Beckman’s lab at the University of Minnesota] expects to release...the first ever sequence of the entire genome of the ...
CRISPR gene editing advances may outrun regulatory oversight
[Recently,] reports emerged that scientists in Oregon had used gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR-Cas9, to edit a human embryo. While ...
Skin cancer detection improves with new gene-based blood tests
Genetic testing of tumor and blood fluid samples from people with and without one of the most aggressive forms of ...
Monsanto glyphosate case: Select documents suggest company tried to influence public debate over weed killer
Documents released [August 1, 2017] in a lawsuit against Monsanto raised new questions about the company’s efforts to influence the news media ...
Anti-GMO Indian environmentalists try to derail GMO mustard commercialization
Dr Pushpa M Bhargava, India’s premier geneticist, who was appointed to [India’s] GEAC [Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee] by the apex ...
GMOs are not an either/or debate
On the one hand, GM crops can help us feed poor people in far-flung parts of the world by making ...
Food Evolution interview: Could ‘pro science’ documentary inspire a pro-GMO food movement?
Food Evolution director Scott Hamilton Kennedy talks with the Genetic Literacy Project about the film's funding, and challenges the "ruthless ...
