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Latin American researchers use gene editing to develop new crops that benefit farmers and consumers
Latin American farmers are partnering with scientists to create new crop varieties using gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR-CAS 9 in a move to help the region realize its potential as a world power in food production. The partnerships are an extension of the work that Latin American farmers have pursued…
African scientists fear the continent will be left behind as gene editing transforms food production
Scientists in Africa are calling on their governments to ensure the continent isn’t left behind as gene editing revolutionizes food production. Gene editing is a good tool that can help enhance Africa’s food security, say scientists across the continent, and it shouldn’t suffer the same fate that has stymied the…
Analysis: Problematic provisions in new USDA rule for GE plants
Over the last three months, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published materials and conducted webinar presentations to provide additional clarity around how it will implement its regulations for genetically engineered (GE) organisms, with particular emphasis on explaining the exemptions, self-determination and confirmation provisions in its newly…
Agricultural technology key to protecting nature and preventing pandemics
Scientists are urging governments across the globe to adopt technology to reduce agriculture’s impact on the environment and slow the emergence of new diseases like COVID-19. The call comes as a new report by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) warns that more zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 will hit…
An argument for gene drive technology to genetically control insects like mosquitoes and locusts
The fate of society rests in part on how humans navigate their complicated relationship with insects – trying to save “good” insects and control “bad” ones. Some insects, like mosquitoes, bite people and make them sick – remember Zika? Now the U.S. mosquito season is already in full swing,…
Analysis: USDA’s final biotech rule explained
The long-awaited updates from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to its genetically engineered (GE) organism regulation have been issued. This final rule completed a more than 10-year process started back in 2008 to revise regulations promulgated in 1987. This article discusses these new regulations and some of…
Chile advances in breeding gene-edited crops that weather climate change
After playing a key role in global genetically modified (GM) seed production for two decades, Chile is now leading the way in publicly developed gene-edited crops that address climate change impacts on local agriculture. The trend was documented in a peer-review study published in the British magazine GM Crops…
Gene editing will revolutionize crop breeding in Africa, new paper predicts
Genome editing technology has the potential to revolutionize crop development on the African continent, especially in sub-Sahara Africa, according to a new scientific paper. The paper, published in the Frontiers in Plant Science Journal by John Komen and five other scientists working in Africa, noted that CRISPR-Cas9 is…
Norwegians see advantages to gene editing food
Norwegian consumers are receptive to using gene editing tools in agriculture if they bring social, economic and environmental benefits, a new study shows. The findings offer yet another indication that European consumers’ opinions about genetic engineering are more fluid than has been generally perceived. In a…