Archive for the 'Biotechnology' Category
Argentine Lab Clones Cow to Produce Human-Like Milk
June 10th, 2011Via: AFP: An Argentine laboratory announced that it had created the world’s first transgenic cow, using human genes that will allow the animal to produce the equivalent of mothers’ milk. “The cloned cow, named Rosita ISA, is the first bovine born in the world that incorporates human genes that contain the proteins present in human […]
MIT: GM Virus Produces Structures That Will Improve Solar-Cell Efficiency by Nearly One-Third
April 28th, 2011Via: MIT News: Researchers at MIT have found a way to make significant improvements to the power-conversion efficiency of solar cells by enlisting the services of tiny viruses to perform detailed assembly work at the microscopic level. In a solar cell, sunlight hits a light-harvesting material, causing it to release electrons that can be harnessed […]
USDA Moves to Let Monsanto Perform Its Own Environmental Impact Studies on GMOs
April 24th, 2011Via: Grist: In early April, the USDA made what I’m reading as a second response to Judge White, this one even more craven. To satisfy the legal system’s pesky demand for environmental impact studies of novel GMO crops, the USDA has settled upon a brilliant solution: let the GMO industry conduct its own environmental impact […]
Three-Parent IVF Babies
April 22nd, 2011Via: New Scientist: A review of technologies that create three-parent embryos to avoid mitochondrial disease has found no evidence that the methods are unsafe, calling for further research. Medical charities have followed up the report with a call to the UK’s health secretary to prepare to regulate the technology in clinics.
GMOs Linked to Organ Disruption in 19 Studies
April 11th, 2011Via: Institute for Responsible Technology: A new paper shows that consuming genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys. By reviewing data from 19 animal studies, Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini and others reveal that 9% of the measured parameters, including blood and urine biochemistry, […]
Genetically Modified Cows Produce ‘Human-Milk-Like Products’
April 3rd, 2011When I saw this story in the Telegraph, I thought that it had to be the tail end of some April Fool’s antics. Nope. Apparently, this is actually happening. The article below is from March. Via: Good: Earlier this month, China held an exhibition to showcase major technical achievements during its 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010). […]
New Pathogen Found in Roundup Ready GM Crops Causes Spontaneous Abortions and Infertility in Livestock?
February 24th, 2011Via: Institute of Science in Society: An open letter appeared on the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance founded and run by Judith McGeary to save family farms in the US [1, 2]. The letter, written by Don Huber, professor emeritus at Purdue University, to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, warns of a pathogen “new to […]
Obama Administration Allows Unrestricted Planting of GMO Alfalfa
February 4th, 2011Via: Politics of the Plate: On Thursday, the Obama administration showed whose side it is on in the battle between proponents of sustainable, organic agriculture and the big businesses that profit from conventional, chemical agriculture. Big Ag won. It wasn’t even close. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) […]
The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?
January 29th, 2011Via: Organic Consumers: In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto’s Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation’s 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America’s organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it’s time […]
Largest Soybean Sale Ever Between U.S. and China
January 26th, 2011Via: Grainnet: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued Jan. 25 the following statement on the reported sale of 2.74 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China in the 2011-12 marketing year: “Today’s sale of 2.74 million tons of U.S. soybeans to China is the single largest daily soybean sale since USDA began issuing daily sales […]
