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African scientists urge use of gene editing to improve crops
Though genome editing tools should be integrated into Africa’s farming systems to boost crops yields, enhance nutrition and accelerate the breeding process for new varieties, they must be accompanied by new communication efforts, scientists say. ‘‘Gene editing provides an opportunity to capture the tremendous potential for African scientists to develop…
‘Patchwork’ of global gene editing regulations will harm seed production, group warns
Failing to harmonize international regulations around the use of gene editing in agricultural production will hurt seed production globally, the International Seed Federation has cautioned. The Federation wants governments and agricultural sector players to make conscious efforts to treat gene editing technology in a way that avoids the “mistakes” that…
AfS at 5: Five young change-makers in agriculture
The Cornell Alliance for Science has been heartened to meet and work with young people who are passionate about transforming farming and feeding the world. As our organization turns five, we take this opportunity to highlight five young change-makers who are making a difference in global agriculture. Narain TM is…
AfS at 5: Five reasons to be excited about biotech
The Cornell Alliance for Science was founded five years ago, and I’ve been a supporter from the beginning. I’ve never seen a more powerful, impactful cause. The Alliance is the key to improving the lives of billions by unlocking valuable crop biotechnology. As I’ve learned about the technology’s applications in agriculture,…
AfS at 5: Five successes
I was pregnant with my second child, my daughter, while I gestated—in collaboration with great partners from around the world—the concept that became the Cornell Alliance for Science. My daughter is now five. Like the Alliance for Science, she has a strong sense of self, the determination to win and…
Crop gene editing needs proactive communication plan, scientist warns
Effective science and communication collaborations are critical to ensure gene editing technology does not suffer from the “perception problem” now facing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), a plant pathologist warned. “I want to feed the world sustainably. That’s what motivates me as a scientist,” said Jim Bradeen, head of the Department…
Activists slow to embrace gene editing that benefits animal welfare
Though researchers are turning to gene editing to address animal welfare issues, it appears that activists remain lukewarm to that use of the technology. Hornless dairy cows, disease-resistant swine and poultry, male pigs that never reach puberty and cattle that can better tolerate heat are some of the projects…
Gene editing could save Ghana’s cocoa from extinction, scientists say
A new study warns that climate change could drive Ghana’s cocoa (cacao) industry to extinction — a fate that scientists say could be reversed through gene editing. A study by the Climate Change Unit of Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana is predicting the…
Can genetic engineering save disappearing forests?
Compared to gene-edited babies in China and ambitious projects to rescue woolly mammoths from extinction, biotech trees might sound pretty tame. But releasing genetically engineered trees into forests to counter threats to forest health represents a new frontier in biotechnology. Even as the techniques of molecular biology have advanced, humans have not…