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Helping plants remove natural toxins could boost crop yields by 47 percent
Can you imagine the entire population of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom and France going hungry? You don’t need to imagine. That is exactly what happens every day when an estimated 815 million people around the globe go hungry. In the short term, the problem…
UK plants its first gene edited crop
Scientists at Rothamsted Research have sown one of the world’s first experimental field trials of a genome edited crop in an effort to develop more nutritious plants that can be sustainably grown. The trial — the first to be conducted on genome edited (GE) plants in the United Kingdom…
Cornell Alliance for Science to lead global farmer training course in Illinois
Some 60 farmers representing 17 nations will gather May 21-25 in Rock Island, Ill., to hone skills that will amplify their voices in the global debate around agricultural biotechnology. This is the second year that the Cornell Alliance for Science is leading the popular international program, which offers…
The perils of GMO research: a scientist speaks out
A few weeks ago, like thousands of other scientists around the globe have done before, I stood up in front of a public audience and “defended” my PhD thesis to a jury of senior scientists. The PhD defense is probably the single-most significant milestone in a career in science. It’s…
Sorting out GMOs
Author Mark Lynas, a one-time anti-GMO activist turned biotech advocate, is featured in an interview on Wisconsin Public Radio. The 42-minute program starts with a segment on how Wisconsin organic farmers are losing faith in the USDA organic label. Some are disgruntled by the inclusion of hydroponic operations in…
USDA labeling proposal diffuses GMO stigma
Though anti-GMO activists have long pushed labeling as a way to stigmatize genetically modified foods, America’s draft proposal for labeling such products deftly diffuses that effort with new language and friendly-looking symbols. Two commonly used terms — genetically engineered and genetically modified — would be abandoned in favor of the…
Bill Gates: Gene editing can help humanity
Philanthropist Bill Gates today strongly endorsed new gene editing techniques such as CRISPR, saying they could help humanity overcome some of its “biggest and most persistent challenges” in global health and agriculture over the next decade. “Eliminating the most persistent diseases and causes of poverty will require scientific discovery and…
USDA reconfirms stance on gene-edited crops
Image by NHGRI US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today reconfirmed that his agency has no plans to impose new or additional regulation on crops developed through new breeding techniques, such as gene editing. His statement essentially reiterates the same policy that the US Department of Agriculture has followed for…
Should genetically modified organisms be part of our conservation efforts?
Biotechnology is rapidly evolving through developments in genome editing and synthetic biology, giving birth to new forms of life. This technology has already given us genetically modified (GM) plants that produce bacterial pesticides, GM mosquitos that are sterile and GM mice that develop human cancers. Now, new biotechnological…