On Saturday, May 20, activists took to the streets, all over the world, for the sixth annual March Against Monsanto protests. News reports like those from Switzerland, Bangladesh, Toronto and, here in the U.S., Denver and Miami painted a picture…
Category: Genetics
Genetically engineered disappointments
By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Tan Zhai Gen Kuala Lumpur, May 16 (IPS) – Advocates of genetically engineered (GE) crops have long claimed that genetic engineering is necessary to raise crop yields and reduce human exposure to agrochemicals. Genetic engineering…
Artificial ’embryos’ created in lab
Scientists have created “artificial embryos” using stem cells from mice, in what they believe is a world first. The University of Cambridge team used two types of stem cells and a 3D scaffold to create a structure closely resembling a…
Biosafety Protocol stalled on risk assessment
Further work on biosafety risk assessment which is a key pillar under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety has received a setback at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference which ended on 17 December in Cancun, Mexico.The 8th meeting of the Conference…
Biodiversity convention considers genetic sequence, benefit sharing
Negotiators at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Cancun, Mexico are working to resolve tough issues surrounding how to share benefits from the use of genetic sequence data from plants, animals, microbes and other biodiversity.Biodiverse developing countries that…
UN biodiversity confce at Cancun to debate synthetic biology
Cancún (Lim Li Ching) – The United Nations Biodiversity Conference opened in Cancún, Mexico on 4 December. The largest global gathering that convenes every two years to discuss biodiversity issues will meet over the next two weeks until 17 December.…
Global call for moratorium on new genetic extinction tech
Cancun, Mexico – This week, international conservation and environmental leaders are calling on governments at the 2016 UN Convention on Biodiversity to establish a moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology called gene drives. Gene drives, developed through new gene-editing…
Motherless babies could be a possibility in near future
Motherless babies could be a real possibility in the near future, according to scientists who managed to create a litter of mice without fertilizing a female egg. The breakthrough could help infertile women have children. The old-fashioned way of making…
US biotech giant Monsanto on the dock
A campaign has been launched seeking support support for the International Monsanto Tribunal which is scheduled for 14-16 October in The Haque. A statement has been floated as under for registering support to the initiative.
‘Bangabahadur’ to stay few more days at Jamalpur
The rescuers will take a few more days to shift the wild elephant, which was swept away by flood water and strayed for about 1,000 km from Assam of India to the northern region of Bangladesh over the last one…
GMO wheat found in Washington state could affect US trade
Seattle (AP/UNB) — Genetically modified wheat not approved for sale or commercial production in the United States has been found growing in a field in Washington state, agriculture officials said Friday, posing a possible risk to trade with countries concerned…
Biodiversity, GMOs, Gene Drives and the Militarised Mind
A recent report from the National Academy of Science of The United States, titled Gene Drives on the Horizon : Advancing Science, Navigating Uncertainty, and Aligning Research with Public Values”, warns:“One possible goal of release of a gene-drive modified organism…
BD scientist’s discovery earns ‘Zootaxa’ recognition
Bangladeshi scientist Dr Belal Hossain’s discovery of a new amphipod species, named Victoriopisa bruneiensis, has earned the recognition of science journal ‘Zootaxa’. Dr Belal Hossain, an associate professor of Fisheries and Marine Science Department at Noakhali Science and Technology University…
When breast tissue goes rogue
Scientists say they now have a near-perfect picture of the genetic events that cause breast cancer. The study, published in Nature, has been described as a “milestone” moment that could help unlock new ways of treating and preventing the disease.
Access to genetic data is “the big issue of our time”
By Edward Hammond Regulating access to genetic data is “the big issue of our time” in crop development, says Cornell University’s Edward Buckler. The maize geneticist contends that, at least for industrial agriculture, “Germplasm is becoming the information technology that…
Genetic control is no answer to Zika
Chennai, India – The arrival of Zika, seemingly out of nowhere, on the global health scene and hitting media headlines around the world almost daily, as well as the appearance of Yellow Fever virus for the first time in China…
WIPO: IGC still divided on genetic resources protection
Geneva (Mirza Alas) — The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held its 29th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore on 15 to 19 February at its headquarters in Geneva. The Committee…
Report release: Extreme biotech meets extreme energy
Paris, 24 Nov – At the upcoming Climate summit in Paris, some governments and much of civil society will be pushing for an urgent transition away from the carbon-rich fossil fuels responsible for climate chaos. However, one hi-tech sector, the…
Deep monkey roars come with intimate secret
The howler monkeys whose guttural calls reverberate through Central and South American rainforests possess a secret that the males of the species may prefer to be left unrevealed.Howler monkeys make among the loudest, deepest sounds of any land animal, and…
Bt brinjal cultivation in B’desh a success or propaganda
The BBC’s claim of 90% success for Bt brinjal in Bangladesh has been challenged by a journalist. Claire Robinson reports BBC Panorama’s programme, “GM Food: Cultivating Fear”, has come under attack from a Bangladeshi journalist for falsely portraying Bt brinjal…
Skull clue to exodus from Africa
An ancient skull discovered in Israel could shed light on the migration of modern humans out of Africa some 60,000 years ago.
Russia wants to collect the DNA of every creature
Institutions have already been amassing huge DNA collections to catalog the world’s creatures, but Moscow State University might just top them all. It’s planning to build “Noah’s Ark,” a repository for the genes of every creature, living or extinct —…
GM crops: UK scientists call for new trials
By James Morgan A new report on genetically modified (GM) crops, commissioned by the prime minister, calls for more UK field trials and fewer EU restrictions. The Council for Science and Technology (CST) wants “public good” GM varieties to be…
Crop research instt (ICRISAT) chief gets biotech special award
Hyderabad, India – In recognition of his relentless efforts to improve the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers is Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, Dr William Dar, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), was conferred…
Quarantine station to be installed in Jamalpur
JAMALPUR, Feb 11, 2014(BSS) – The government has taken up a programme to set-up a quarantine station in the district aimed at examining imported animals as well as diagnoses the disease of local cattle.
USAID says BT Brinjal Bangladesh’s own decision
Growing genetically modified ‘BT Brinjal’ is Bangladesh’s own decision and the US development agency engages with the process considering its need and environmental safety. The agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury last month distributed saplings of ‘BT brinjal’ to some farmers amid…
‘No BT brinjal export for now’
Bangladesh has no plans to export BT brinjal, that it is cultivating in a limited way, says a senior official of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). The EPB’s vice-chairman Subhasis Basu told journalists that there was no reason to ‘lend ear…
Harlequin ladybirds escape natural ‘enemies’
Harlequin ladybirds escape parasites which attack native species, scientists have found.
‘HIV treatment facilities poor’
People living with HIV are not happy with the government when it comes to treatment and detection of new cases. A representative of their network, Habiba Akhter, said five out of eight blood samples testing machines for HIV lay idle…
Children’s congenial heart defects linked to toxins
From: Editor, ENN Approximately 8 out of every 1,000 newborns have congenial heart defects — abnormalities in the heart’s structure that happen due to incomplete or irregular development of the fetus’ heart during the first stages of the mother’s pregnancy.