by
David Tribe on 12 December 2011
Re-posted from GMO Pundit blog
A
new book was launched by Ed Byrne last night in suave surroundings at the Monash University Museum of Art. The book launch was enlivened with witty remarks from publisher Louise Adler and warmth and obvious admiration from high achiever husband Alan Finkel, amid great excitement and genuine enthusiasm in the audience for the appearance of a really up to the minute science story. This is a story that has changed considerably, even as Elizabeth has been writing this book these last four years.
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by
David Tribe on 19 November 2011
The small RNA compounds in our food are in the news:
What’s the News: It’s no secret that having lunch messes with your biochemistry. Once that sandwich hits your stomach, genes related to digestion have been activated and are causing the production of the many molecules that help break food down. But a new study suggests that the connection between your food’s biochemistry and your own may be more intimate than we thought. Tiny RNAs usually found in plants have been discovered circulating in blood, and animal studies indicate that they are directly manipulating the expression of genes.
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by
David Tribe on 6 October 2011
Quasi-science prevents an environmentally friendly agriculture and forestry
(see original blog post here)
European legislation in the field of genetic engineering is so narrow that it blocks the ability of researchers to take progress from publicly funded basic research on plants through to practical applications. We, 41 scientists who have received funding for basic research on plants from the Swedish Research Council, urge politicians and environmental groups to take the necessary steps to change the relevant legislation so that all available knowledge can be used to develop sustainable agricultural and forest industries.
One of the “Grand Challenges” facing mankind is to find ways to provide food, fuel and clean water to a burgeoning population using agricultural and forestry practices that are environmentally and economically sustainable. Research on plants has made tremendous progress and we now understand well how plants grow, how they protect themselves against disease and environmental stress and what factors limit production in agriculture and forestry. The prerequisite for progress has been basic research, especially studies of plant genes.
by
David Tribe on 12 August 2011
From GMO Pundit.
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| Book available as pdf for free download (see link below) |
Previous posts at GMO Pundit have covered GM insect protected eggplant being developed as a new crop variety in India. This insect-protected crop, making use of Bt protein trait, could avoid a large amount of current synthetic pesticide spraying in India and prevent many poisoning risks to farmers and their familes. The Hindu newspaper story quoted below highlights how concerns about GM eggplant (brinjal) potentially interferring with ayuvedic medicines in India have delayed governmental approval of insect-protected brinjal.
The Hindu : Sci-Tech / Agriculture : Lab test report to pave way for Bt brinjal release NEW DELHI, August 8, 2011
The government has ordered a laboratory test of to find out if genetically modified brinjal is fit for preparation of ayurvedic medicines, with a senior official saying its report in next two months could pave the way for commercial release of Bt brinjal.“Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) under Ministry of Environment and Forest has ordered for lab test to assess compositional analysis to find out if ayurvedic principles are disturbed in Bt brinjal,”, the official said.P. Anand Kumar, Principal Scientist, National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology (NRCPB) under Ministry of Agriculture told reporters here that the test is being conducted in National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad.
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This post was syndicated from GMO Pundit. You may comment here or on the original entry.
Fedoroff Letter to EPA raises serious concerns over EPA blundering
Sixty members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, comprising many of America’s most eminent biological scientists, and including Nobel Laureates Dr. James Watson and Dr. Gunter Blobel, have written to the US Environmental Protection Agency expressing their concerns about recent EPA moves to change biotech crop regulations.
Professor Nina Fedoroff of the Pennsylvania State University is the lead protest letter signatory.
The biotech crop regulation changes mooted by the EPA were announced March 2011 in the Federal Register here (pdf).
Scientist co-signatories on the Fedoroff Letter say that the EPA is going down a troublesome path that is not based on science, and which will frustrate and delay innovations needed to provide farmers with better cropping methods. Because of the delays and unneeded extra cost burdens such a policy shift would create, it would surely undermine global food security.
The text of Fedoroff Letter is provided below (see here for the full original letter).
Nina Fedoroff has (together with Robert Haselkorn,and Bruce M. Chassy) written a very readable editorial about this issue in the FASEB biology journal:
“EPA’s Proposed Biotech Policy Turns a Deaf Ear to Science” (pdf). This great FASEB editorial fully explains the nature of the problem that is brewing with the current EPA policy direction.
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