Science Literacy Project Daily Digest
European GM crop area diminishes
Fewer and fewer field trials with genetically modified plants are conducted in Europe. The only exception is Spain, where large ...
Bioethics and corruption: What’s the link?
Corruption is not a chapter heading in most bioethics textbooks. But a passionate article in a recent issue of the ...
GM food, war metaphors and the perils of political entrenchment
Over a decade ago ago I wrote a few articles on cloning and GM, GMOs, genetic engineering, genetically modified foods ...
Variations of a single gene can lead to too much or too little growth, study shows
A gene previously linked to too much growth in patients has now also been linked to growth restriction. Different forms ...
Gene therapy approval?
After 20 years of high-profile failure, gene therapy is finally well on its way to clinical approval ...
Precautionary principle should apply to GM food, claims former scientists
Genetic modification is not simply the insertion of genes which act independently of the rest of the genome. These genes ...
U.S. House Democrats defeat sex-selective abortion ban
The House of Representatives voted down a bill Thursday that sought to ban sex-selective abortion, 246-168, according to the Washington ...
Time to start reaping GM benefits, says GM supporter
Ever since the Asilomar Conference on ‘Recombinant DNA' in February 1975, regulatory policies relating to recombinant DNA technology have focused ...
African agriculture: Antipathy to GM crops still strong in Zambia
Zambia has one of the strongest records of official opposition to GM crops in Africa. An official of the recently ...
Scientists map and sequence genome of switchgrass relative foxtail millet
A newly published genetic sequence and map of foxtail millet, a close relative of switchgrass and an important food crop ...
Growth factor in stem cells may spur recovery from multiple sclerosis
A substance in human mesenchymal stem cells that promotes growth appears to spur restoration of nerves and their function in ...
Blood test due for postpartum depression?
A simple blood test soon may be able to predict which new mothers will suffer from postpartum depression, a condition ...
Poland beekeepers kick Monsanto out of the hive
The decision comes after thousands of protesters recently took to the streets in demonstration of the undeniable fact that both ...
Hawaii’s biotech papayas hold a lesson for America
A new supply of fresh papayas from Hawaii will reach grocery-store shelves in Japan this year and consumers have biotechnology ...
Patient’s stem cells show promise in treating urinary incontinence
Findings from a multi-center trial led by researchers at Beaumont Hospital may give urologists another minimally invasive treatment option for ...
GM foods: Science and society
Last weekend protesters gathered at Rothamsted Research, north of London, threatening to destroy a field of genetically modified wheat. In ...
Battle against GM soy intensifies in Brazil
Illegally smuggled into Brazil 14 years ago, transgenic soy has proved a boon to domestic farmers and now accounts for ...
Genetic discovery unlocks biosynthesis of medicinal compound in poppy
Scientists have discovered a complex gene cluster responsible for the synthesis of the medicinal compound noscapine ...
Global farming goes biotech
Farmers using improved seeds and biotech crop varieties continue to see significant economic and on-farm environmental benefits, according to the ...
At last, the tomato genome sequence comes to fruition
For years scientists have slaved away, trying to piece together the genes that make up the ripe, red goodness that ...
Chemical exposure ups descendants’ sensitivity to stress
Animals whose ancestors were exposed to an environmental compound generations earlier have been found to developed an increased reaction to ...
Stem cells tested for heart attack repair
Scientists are a step closer to harnessing a technique that “literally mends broken hearts”, according to the Daily Express. The ...
GM food research site hit by cyber attack
"The cyber-strike came after hundreds of protestors went to the agricultural research station in Hertfordshire to try to attack the ...
Maize diversity discoveries may help ease world’s hunger pangs
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, report that ancient farmers had a stronger impact on the evolution of maize, ...
Researchers solve structure of human protein critical for silencing genes
In a study published in the journal Cell on May 24, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists describe the three-dimensional ...
Is Africa’s slow adoption of GM crops justified?
Africa was one of the first places that adopted GM crops, but most of countries in Africa have refused to ...
Living with Huntington’s disease
Children have a 50-50 chance of inheriting the rare disease from their parents. Kristen Powers told USA TODAY in April ...
