November 2013. Environmental and civil society groups on five continents warned that plans to release non-native strains of genetically modified (GM) flies in olive fields in Spain and fruit orchards in Brazil pose major risks to crops and the environment, as pesticide resistance or other harmful traits could spread into wild pest populations. The UK-based company Oxitec plans to release GM olive flies in Spain and GM Mediterranean Fruit Flies (Medfly) in Brazil in the coming months.
Showing posts with label Genetically modified. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genetically modified. Show all posts
Sunday, 24 November 2013
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Glow-in-the-dark Sheep: Genetically Modified At Uruguay Lab [VIDEO]
Scientists in Uruguay have genetically modified sheep to glow in the dark. The fluorescent sheep are a world first, the scientists report.
Continued: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/1627/20130427/glow-dark-sheep-genetically-modified-uruguay-lab-video.htm
The flock of nine lambs was born last October at a farm belonging to the Animal Reproduction Institute of Uruguay, an nonprofit organization affiliated with the Pasteur Institute's genetically modified animals unit. The laboratory incorporated a green fluorescence protein into the genes of the sheep, which will glow when exposed to certain ultraviolet light, making the the ruminants easily identifiable as genetically modified.
Other than glowing green in UV light, the sheep look and behave normally. Scientists modified the sheep's genes with the fluorescent protein of the Aequarea jellyfish.
"We did not use a protein of medical interest or to help with a particular medicine because we wanted to fine-tune the technique. We used the green protein because the color is easily identifiable in the sheep's tissues," said Alejo Menchaca, the head of the research team.
Continued: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/1627/20130427/glow-dark-sheep-genetically-modified-uruguay-lab-video.htm
Monday, 19 March 2012
Glow in the dark sushi made from genetically modified fish becomes the latest food craze to hit America
Sushi that glows in the dark has become the latest must try food craze across America.
Inspired by genetically modified fish first bred for scientific research, a video showing how to make the glowing sushi has become a huge hit online.
The recipes use glofish, a brand of genetically modified (GM) fluorescent zebrafish sold by Yorktown Technologies, which are available to buy in pet shops.
The modified fish were originally bred to help detect environmental pollutants.
By adding a natural fluorescence gene to the fish, scientists planned to create fish that glowed when rivers became contaminated.
First researchers perfected a fish that constantly glowed, which was then bred and sold in pet shops.
The fish are available in a choice of bizarre colours - Starfire Red, Electric Green, Sunburst Orange, Cosmic Blue and Galactic Purple.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2116218/Glow-dark-sushi-genetically-modified-fish-latest-food-craze-America.html#ixzz1pTZB6L00
Friday, 10 June 2011
China Genetically Modifying Cows To Produce Human Breast Milk
Updated: Friday, 10 Jun 2011, 8:06 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 08 Jun 2011, 7:54 AM EDT
BY NEWSCORE
BEIJING - Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.
The milk produced by the transgenic cows is identical to the human variety, with the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk, scientists at China's Agricultural University in Beijing said.
The transgenic herd of 300 was bred by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos which were then implanted into surrogate cows. The technology used was similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned by scientists, in Scotland.
The milk is still undergoing safety tests, but with government permission it will be sold to consumers as a more nutritious dairy drink than cow's milk.
Workers at the university's dairy farm have already tasted the milk -- and said it is sweeter and stronger than the bovine variety, according to Sky News .
"It's good," said worker Jiang Yao. "It's better for you because it's genetically modified."
The scientists have also produced animals that are resistant to mad cow disease, as well as beef cattle that are genetically modified to produce more nutritious meat.
The director of the research project, Professor Li Ning, said Western concerns about the ethics of genetic modification are misplaced.
"There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat," he said. "It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back. We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions."
UPDATE: Argentine Scientists Claim To Have Created Herd To Produce Breast Milk
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/china-genetically-modifying-cows-to-produce-human-breast-milk-20110608-ncx
Published : Wednesday, 08 Jun 2011, 7:54 AM EDT
BY NEWSCORE
BEIJING - Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.
The milk produced by the transgenic cows is identical to the human variety, with the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk, scientists at China's Agricultural University in Beijing said.
The transgenic herd of 300 was bred by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos which were then implanted into surrogate cows. The technology used was similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned by scientists, in Scotland.
The milk is still undergoing safety tests, but with government permission it will be sold to consumers as a more nutritious dairy drink than cow's milk.
Workers at the university's dairy farm have already tasted the milk -- and said it is sweeter and stronger than the bovine variety, according to Sky News .
"It's good," said worker Jiang Yao. "It's better for you because it's genetically modified."
The scientists have also produced animals that are resistant to mad cow disease, as well as beef cattle that are genetically modified to produce more nutritious meat.
The director of the research project, Professor Li Ning, said Western concerns about the ethics of genetic modification are misplaced.
"There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat," he said. "It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back. We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions."
UPDATE: Argentine Scientists Claim To Have Created Herd To Produce Breast Milk
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/china-genetically-modifying-cows-to-produce-human-breast-milk-20110608-ncx
Sunday, 14 November 2010
GM mosquito wild release takes campaigners by surprise
Experts in the safety of genetically modified (GM) organisms have expressed concern over the release of GM mosquitoes into the wild on the Cayman Islands, which was publicised internationally only last month — a year after their initial release.
The trial of the OX513A strain of the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito, developed by UK biotechnology company Oxitec, was carried out on Grand Cayman island by the Cayman Islands' Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) in 2009, followed by a bigger release between May and October this year. Together they represent the first known release of GM mosquitoes anywhere in the world.
Unpublished results of the trials, showing that the GM male mosquitoes competed with wild males, were presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting in the United States, last week (4 November).
The male GM mosquitoes mate with normal females to produce larvae that die unless the antibiotic tetracycline is present. In tetracycline's absence an enzyme accumulates to a toxic level, killing the larvae. The developers hope the strategy could be combined with other mosquito control methods to reduce transmission in dengue-prone areas.
Ricarda Steinbrecher, a geneticist and co-director of EcoNexus — a UK-based non-profit research organisation — expressed surprise that the trials had occurred, saying that they had not been mentioned at the fifth meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety — which addresses international safety issues relating to GM organisms — in Nagoya, Japan, last month.
She described the lack of publicity surrounding the trials as "worrying, both from the scientific perspective as well as public participation perspective".
Steinbrecher said that until a full, long-term environmental assessment of the Cayman trials has been carried out, the recently announced Malaysian trials of the same strain should not go ahead.
Just over three million male mosquitoes were released in the Cayman Islands this year. Oxitec sent the GM eggs to the islands, which are a British overseas territory, and they were hatched and grown at the MRCU.
Angela Harris, senior researcher at MRCU, told SciDev.Net that her unit consulted with several Cayman Islands' government departments beforehand.
"Currently there is a draft biosafety bill, and despite the fact that this bill has not yet been implemented we carried out a risk analysis and review of the trial as if this bill was already in place."
She said that there had been a newspaper article and public consultation within the Cayman Islands.
Luke Alphey, research director at Oxitec, said an extensive risk analysis was carried out and "we did lots of engagement work in Cayman, but no special effort either to spread the word internationally or not to [do so]". On the sidelines of a press conference in London today he said that he had not wanted to publicise the trial until the results were known. He did not know what the Nagoya meeting was, he said. An environmental assessment of the trial site is now being carried out.
Alphey said that the experiment complied with the Cartagena Protocol because prior informed consent was obtained from the Cayman government.
John Marshall, of Imperial College London, who has argued that the Cartagena Protocol needs overhauling to deal with the special demands of GM insects, said: "Because the mosquitoes aren't going to spread to other countries, it's a national issue. I think Oxitec has done everything they needed to do."
The wild mosquito population in a 16-hectare urban area is believed to have been reduced by about 80 per cent. The next step for Oxitec, said Alphey, is to test the strategy in conjunction with other mosquito control methods.
Kathy Jo Wetter, a researcher with the ETC Group (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Cooperation), a Canada-based organisation that promotes the socially responsible development of technologies, said ETC was unaware of the release.
"Oxitec considers its trial 'successful' just days after the experiment has ended," she said. "But unintended impacts on the environment cannot be known, and Oxitec's unproven technology could make things worse in the long term. There is no possibility of recall if something goes wrong — who takes responsibility in that case?"
"Extreme techno-fixes require extreme precaution," she added.
Alphey said they are waiting for approval for the release of GM mosquitoes in Brazil, Panama and the United States.
Katherine Nightingale
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/gm-mosquito-wild-release-takes-campaigners-by-surprise.html
The trial of the OX513A strain of the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito, developed by UK biotechnology company Oxitec, was carried out on Grand Cayman island by the Cayman Islands' Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) in 2009, followed by a bigger release between May and October this year. Together they represent the first known release of GM mosquitoes anywhere in the world.
Unpublished results of the trials, showing that the GM male mosquitoes competed with wild males, were presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting in the United States, last week (4 November).
The male GM mosquitoes mate with normal females to produce larvae that die unless the antibiotic tetracycline is present. In tetracycline's absence an enzyme accumulates to a toxic level, killing the larvae. The developers hope the strategy could be combined with other mosquito control methods to reduce transmission in dengue-prone areas.
Ricarda Steinbrecher, a geneticist and co-director of EcoNexus — a UK-based non-profit research organisation — expressed surprise that the trials had occurred, saying that they had not been mentioned at the fifth meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety — which addresses international safety issues relating to GM organisms — in Nagoya, Japan, last month.
She described the lack of publicity surrounding the trials as "worrying, both from the scientific perspective as well as public participation perspective".
Steinbrecher said that until a full, long-term environmental assessment of the Cayman trials has been carried out, the recently announced Malaysian trials of the same strain should not go ahead.
Just over three million male mosquitoes were released in the Cayman Islands this year. Oxitec sent the GM eggs to the islands, which are a British overseas territory, and they were hatched and grown at the MRCU.
Angela Harris, senior researcher at MRCU, told SciDev.Net that her unit consulted with several Cayman Islands' government departments beforehand.
"Currently there is a draft biosafety bill, and despite the fact that this bill has not yet been implemented we carried out a risk analysis and review of the trial as if this bill was already in place."
She said that there had been a newspaper article and public consultation within the Cayman Islands.
Luke Alphey, research director at Oxitec, said an extensive risk analysis was carried out and "we did lots of engagement work in Cayman, but no special effort either to spread the word internationally or not to [do so]". On the sidelines of a press conference in London today he said that he had not wanted to publicise the trial until the results were known. He did not know what the Nagoya meeting was, he said. An environmental assessment of the trial site is now being carried out.
Alphey said that the experiment complied with the Cartagena Protocol because prior informed consent was obtained from the Cayman government.
John Marshall, of Imperial College London, who has argued that the Cartagena Protocol needs overhauling to deal with the special demands of GM insects, said: "Because the mosquitoes aren't going to spread to other countries, it's a national issue. I think Oxitec has done everything they needed to do."
The wild mosquito population in a 16-hectare urban area is believed to have been reduced by about 80 per cent. The next step for Oxitec, said Alphey, is to test the strategy in conjunction with other mosquito control methods.
Kathy Jo Wetter, a researcher with the ETC Group (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Cooperation), a Canada-based organisation that promotes the socially responsible development of technologies, said ETC was unaware of the release.
"Oxitec considers its trial 'successful' just days after the experiment has ended," she said. "But unintended impacts on the environment cannot be known, and Oxitec's unproven technology could make things worse in the long term. There is no possibility of recall if something goes wrong — who takes responsibility in that case?"
"Extreme techno-fixes require extreme precaution," she added.
Alphey said they are waiting for approval for the release of GM mosquitoes in Brazil, Panama and the United States.
Katherine Nightingale
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/gm-mosquito-wild-release-takes-campaigners-by-surprise.html
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