Speeding up photorespiration boosts crop production
Reading Time: < 1 minutePLANTS such as soybeans and wheat waste between 20 and 50 per cent of their energy recycling toxic chemicals created when the enzyme Rubisco—the most prevalent enzyme in the world—grabs oxygen molecules instead of carbon dioxide molecules. Increasing production of a common, naturally occurring protein in plant leaves could boost the yields of major food […]
UK approves first gene- edited crop trial in Europe
Reading Time: 2 minutesSCIENTIST at Rothamsted Research received approval to sow 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 crops as part of […]
Gene-editing advances put us at the dawn of a revolution in medicine
Reading Time: 5 minutesBY STEVEN CERIER GENETIC engineering is most often linked to the foods that we eat and crops that we grow. It’s a technology that has generated a great deal of controversy, with opponents claiming it is inherently dangerous to human health and the environment. There is however no scientific evidence to validate those concerns. GE […]
Pushing mosquito genetics away from blood meals
Reading Time: 3 minutesTHE value of being able to force disease-carrying mosquitoes away from biting human or animals is almost immeasurable. Diseases such as malaria, dengue, and Zika affect hundreds of millions of people annually due to female mosquitoes requiring nutrient-rich blood to support their developing eggs. However, there already exists a mosquito species called Wyeomyia smithii in […]
Sweet way to greater yield
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHREE years ago, biotechnologists demonstrated in field trials that they could increase the productivity of maize by introducing a rice gene into the plant that regulated the accumulation of sucrose in kernels and led to more kernels per maize plant. They knew that the rice gene affected the performance of a natural chemical in maize, […]
Decoding the axolotl genome – A new hope for regenerative medicine?
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY ANDREJA GREGORIC A TEAM of researchers decoded the entire genetic information of the salamander axolotl. It is the largest genome ever to be sequenced. The “Mexican walking fish” could provide us with the foundation for novel insights into human tissue regeneration capacities. This extraordinary amphibian, Ambystoma mexicanu does not undergo metamorphosis but rather keeps […]
Genetic engineering, CRISPR and food: What the ‘revolution’ will bring in the near future
Reading Time: 6 minutesBY STEVEN CERIER HUMANKIND is on the verge of a genetic revolution that holds great promise and potential. It will change the ways food is grown, medicine is produced, animals are altered and will give rise to new ways of producing plastics, biofuels and chemicals. Many object to the genetic revolution, insisting we should not […]
Paraplegic rats walk, regain feeling after human stem cell treatment
Reading Time: 2 minutesENGINEERED tissue containing human stem cells has allowed paraplegic rats to walk independently and regain sensory perception. The implanted rats also show some degree of healing in their spinal cords. The research, published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, demonstrates the great potential of stem cells — undifferentiated cells that can develop into numerous different types of […]
ISAAA presents Pocket K 55
Reading Time: 4 minutesProject features biotech-improved animals OVER twenty years ago, the first biotech crop was placed in the market to benefit farmers and the consumers. Varieties of high yielding important crops were improved to contain traits such as insect resistance, herbicide tolerance, and drought tolerance among others. In 2016, 185.1 million hectares of biotech crops were planted […]
Transforming spinach leaves into beating human hearts
Reading Time: 2 minutes BY LUKA ZUPANČIČ US scientists have managed to transform spinach leaves into functional beating heart tissues with their own vascular networks, possibly opening up a new branch of tissue engineering science based on plant mimicry. The scientific field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine emerged in the last decade as an answer to the […]