Scientists highlight responsible advancement, safe use of synthetic biology
Reading Time: 2 minutesA TEAM of scientists published a policy forum article on the technological challenges of milestones when writing about genomes. The article focuses on identifying what technological advances are needed to secure the continuously changing field of synthetic biology. The authors also highlighted the need to keep its implementation safe and responsible. The 21 scientists from […]
FDA nod for ultra low gossypol cotton for consumption
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an ultralow gossypol cottonseed, ULGCS, to be utilised as human food and animal feed. ULGCS is derived from a transgenic cotton variety TAM66274 developed by plant biotechnologist Keerti Rathore and his team at Texas A&M AgriLife Research. TAM66274 is a unique cotton plant with ultra-low gossypol […]
Hornless cattle now possible thanks to genome-editing
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSCIENTISTS form the University of California, Davis, along with colleagues from the University of Mansoura in Egypt have successfully used genome editing to produce hornless cattle, which can then pass on the genome-edited traits to their calves. Their findings also revealed that the process did not result in any unintended genetic changes in the calves. […]
Jumping genes can speed-breed drought-resistant crops
Reading Time: 2 minutesRESEARCHERS from the University of Cambridge’s Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU) and Department of Plant Sciences have discovered that drought stress triggers the activity of a family of jumping genes (Rider retrotransposons) previously known to contribute to fruit shape and colour in tomatoes. Their characterisation of Rider, published today in the journal PLOS Genetics, revealed that the […]
Is Malaysia ready to face agri challenges through gene technologies?
Reading Time: 2 minutesIN RECENT months Malaysians have been experiencing a spike in vegetable prices, some more than 100 per cent. For an example, the price of tomatoes has gone up from RM3 per kg to RM6. Although there are multiple factors that influence price of food crops, one reason is the low farm production. Our golden crop, […]
HIV eliminated from the genomes of living animals
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIN a major collaborative effort, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) have for the first time eliminated replication-competent HIV-1 DNA — the virus responsible for AIDS from the genomes of living animals. The study, reported online July 2 in the journal Nature […]
Deadly box jellyfish antidote discovered using CRISPR
Reading Time: 3 minutesRESEARCHERS at the University of Sydney have discovered an antidote to the deadly sting delivered by the most venomous creature on earth — the Australian box jellyfish. The Australian box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) has about 60 tentacles that can grow up to three metres long. Each tentacle has millions of microscopic hooks filled with venom. […]
Gene-edited babies, so what’s our take?
Reading Time: 4 minutesDR REENA RAJASURIAR, HIV Scientist, Centre for Excellence for Research in AIDS, University of Malaya “Rogue scientist at work“ THE technology for gene editing is still not 100 per cent safe and there could be “off target” effects which could be detrimental. So, to apply this technique to humans is wrong and these babies have been unnecessarily put at risk. All experiments on […]
Is a gene-edited animal a drug?
Reading Time: 5 minutesBY DR ALISON VAN EENENNAAM WE eat mutations every day. All the vegetables, grains, fruits and meat humans consume as part of their diet is jam-packed with DNA speckled with mutations and beneficial variations. In 2017, the United States Food and Drug Administration proposed to regulate a specific subset of these variations as drugs: in […]
Nigeria approves Bt cowpea commercialisation
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCOWPEA, also known as kacang tunggak in Malay may not be a key crop in Malaysia, but the Indians have long been using it in curry and vadai, the Malays add it in ketupat palas, while the Chinese mix it in stew. Like so many other crops, the cowpea faces threats from insects, fungi, bacteria and viruses. In Nigeria, [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] Maruca pod-borer infestation […]