Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

6- Mutation Genetic Engineering By: MinDs MFM … Continue reading →

There is a need for political support across the spectrum for promoting safe and responsible genetic engineering research, said M. S. Swaminathan, chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. He was addressing students at the 35 annual convocation of Anna University in the city on Wednesday. Over one lakh students received their degrees in various specialities.. Mr. Swaminathan said that the present moratorium on field trials with recombinant DNA material was a serious handicap. Agriculture is a State subject and it is very important that agricultural universities and State departments of agriculture are involved in the design and implementation of field trials. It takes nearly 10 years for a new variety to be ready for recommendation to farmers; therefore, speed is of the essence in organising field trials and gathering reliable data on risks and benefits, he said. He added that public sector research and development institutions should give high priority to the breeding of varieties which can help farmers minimise climate and market risks. M. Rajaram, vice-chancellor of Anna University, said in addition to imparting education, the university is sensitive to the welfare of society. The unmanned aerial vehicle, dhaksha, designed and developed by the university, joined the rescue team at … Continue reading →

No one has used genetic engineering to do something beneficial for the environment. Syracuse, N.Y. -- In the first use of genetic engineering to save a species in the wild, SUNY researchers say they have created a new strain of blight-resistant American chestnut that could restore the majestic tree to the American landscape. After 25 years of research, a pair of professors at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry say they have used a gene from wheat to create an American chestnut that could withstand the blight that wiped out up to 5 billion of the trees in the United States. "It is tremendously satisfying to reach this level of success," said ESF professor Chuck Maynard, who worked with fellow professor William Powell to build the blight-resistant tree. Before the blight nearly wiped out the trees by the 1950s, chestnuts ranged from Florida to Maine and comprised up to 25 percent of Eastern forests. Its rot-resistant wood was an important source of lumber for log cabins and railroad ties for an emerging nation. The nutrient-rich nuts provided food for wildlife and humans; the roasted nuts were so delicious they even inspired a Christmas song. "The team has accomplished a … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 6-Nov-2014 Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline IMAGE: Industrial Biotechnology, led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, Biological and Environmental Engineering Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and Glenn Nedwin, PhD, MoT, CEO and President, Taxon Biosciences, Tiburon, CA, is... New Rochelle, NY, November 6, 2014Screening large cell culture collections containing plant samples obtained from diverse geographic regions, climates, and soil and growing conditions for biological activity can reveal a wealth of natural compounds with potential applications for crop improvement and protection. The capability to do reproducible screening and genomic analysis of the more than 2,000 plant cell lines maintained in culture at the Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, in Kiev, Ukraine is describe in an article in Industrial Biotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Industrial Biotechnology website. In the article "Screening Plant Biodiversity In Vitro for New Natural Products," Prof. Nikolay V. Kuchuk and coauthors from the Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering and Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev; Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, … Continue reading →

BI280 Chapter 10 Genetic Engineering - Part 2 of 2 By: Heidi Bulfer … Continue reading →

BI280 Chapter 10 Genetic Engineering - Part 1 of 1 By: Heidi Bulfer … Continue reading →

The big agribusiness companies have achieved regulatory capture of government agenciesbut not in the way that many people think. At the urging of industry, since the 1980s federal agencies have over-regulated genetically engineered plants, animals and microorganismsat great cost to U.S.-based R&D and, ultimately, to consumers. Its no secret that although the Internet has vastly enriched our lives in many respects, it has downsidesless interpersonal interaction, more anonymous snarkiness, online harassment and even cyber-stalking. The net has also made it difficult to stop or correct the promulgation of misinformation, as I have learned to my dismay: A valid observation I made to a New York Times reporter for a 2001 article on the regulation of genetic engineering has been repeatedly taken out of context and misrepresented by activists. It continues to appear anewstill out of context and misconstrued13 years later. Here is the portion of the original article that is often quoted on anti-genetic engineering websites (such as here and here): Even longtime Washington hands said that the control this nascent [agbiotech] industry exerted over its own regulatory destinythrough the Environmental Protection Agency, the Agriculture Department and ultimately the Food and Drug Administrationwas astonishing. In this area, the U.S. government … Continue reading →

Genetically engineering tumors in mice, a technique that has dominated cancer research for decades, may not replicate important features of cancers caused by exposure to environmental carcinogens, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco scientists. In addition to pointing the way to better understanding of environmental causes of cancer, the findings may help explain why many patients do not benefit from, or develop resistance to, targeted drug therapies. In the new research, reported November 2, 2014 in the advance online edition of Nature, a team led by UCSF graduate student Peter M.K. Westcott found that chemically induced lung tumors in mice carry hundreds of point mutationsdeleterious alterations of single letters in the genomethat are not present in tumors induced by genetic engineering. The researchers demonstrated that chemically induced tumors display a starkly different mutational landscape even when chemicals cause a tumor-initiating mutation that is identical to that created by direct genetic manipulation. Since the 1980s, when genetic engineering came along, the mouse model community has been working on genetically engineered canceryou put a gene in or take a gene out, and you get a tumor, said Allan Balmain, PhD, the Barbara Bass Bakar Distinguished Professor in Cancer … Continue reading →

Election judges check signatures on ballots at the Denver Election Headquarters in downtown Denver, November 04, 2014. Closes races in Colorado are drawing a last minute rush to vote on election day. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post) Voters dished up rejection for Proposition 105, labeling of genetically modified foods, with 35 percent of votes counted. The measure would have required labels for GMOs foods produced with genetic engineering or containing genetically modified ingredients. More than 68 percent of voters said no to labeling. Most processed foods sold in America include GMO ingredients such as corn syrup, corn oil, soybean crops and sugar. Supporters of GMO labeling, such as Right to Know Colorado, Whole Foods and Natural Grocers, said it would give consumers a choice about what they serve their families. It's a label, not a ban, alerting people to an unnatural manipulation of food, they argued. Opponents of Prop 105 said the measure would create new costs and red tape for farmers, food manufacturers and grocery stores and consequently would run up grocery bills and cost taxpayers millions for the government oversight. See the article here: Colorado Prop 105: GMO food fight won by opponents of labeling … Continue reading →

Phayronet ltd Phayronet combines for medical benefits nanotechnology capabilities together with the achievements of genetic engineering. It develops the future direction of biomedical engineering developments.... By: Phayronet Ltd … Continue reading →