Biotech News

(Pictured: Ronda Hirnyck, University of Idaho Extension pesticide coordinator, says glyphosate poses no threat to human health.) TWIN FALLS, Idaho – While glyphosate has lower toxicity than many pesticides — it’s rated zero risk for homeowner use — the news and social media are laden with its purported health risks to humans, especially cancer. But…

Nigeria has commenced a historic process of leading other African nations on smart and innovative agriculture with the recent application seeking commercial release of the genetically modified insect-resistant cowpea. If approved, the pod borer-resistant (PBR) cowpea will become the nation’s first genetically modified food crop. It is expected to increase yields and massively reduce the…

In poor parts of the world, people may rely on a single staple crop to meet a substantial proportion of their energy requirements. For example, those who live in southeast Asia rely heavily on rice. Many denizens of Africa rely on cassava, a tuber somewhat reminiscent of a potato. In the United States, cassava is…

Anti-GMO sentiment has repercussions for developing world’s food supply. Anti-GMO sentiment holds back agricultural advancement in the developing world, but an Iowa State University agronomist hopes his research will clarify the scientific consensus and spark wider acceptance of the technology in Africa. A paper recently published in the academic journal Global Food Security analyzed dozens…

Winners of chemistry prize say excessive concerns could limit scientific progress. Winners of this year’s Nobel prize for chemistry say overblown fears about genetically modified foods risk preventing society benefiting from the technology. Prof Frances Arnold, from the US, and Sir Gregory Winter, from Britain, made the comments on Friday ahead of Monday’s presentation of…

Genetic engineering and integrated pest management prove useful in eradicating dangerous agricultural pest. Growers and industry leaders across the cotton belt, particularly those in California and Arizona, rightly hailed the announced eradication of an invasive pest that once threatened to wipe out the U.S. cotton industry. Eliminating the pink bollworm (PBW) from cotton fields is…

Tomatoes could benefit from a review to gene-editing policy, as it would be easier for British growers to produce good-tasting, low-cost tomatoes if there were better varieties available Last summer, the European Court of Justice ruled that ’genome edited’ crops should be categorised as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), meaning huge costs for licensing and trials. This…

Growers say the glyphosate-tolerant varieties have eased crop management and reduced crop’s environmental impact Alberta sugar beet growers embraced glyphosate-tolerant varieties when they first became available about 10 years ago. They’ve never looked back. The technology has revolutionized crop management and growers say it has also reduced the environmental impact of producing the labour-intensive crop.…

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has instructed the Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Trade, Industry and Cooperatives to explore the possibility of farming Bt cotton to revitalize the country’s cotton sub-sector. In his Heroes’ Day address to the nation, President Kenyatta directed the three ministries to work together and come up with a quick mechanism to…

The Government of Indonesia has approved the first genetically modified crop which will soon be commercialized in the country.  The biotech sugarcane event NXI-4T which contains betaine gene was developed by the state-owned sugar company, PT Perkebunan Nusantara XI (PTPN XI). The gene expressed osmoprotectant compound which was introduced using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated plant transformation.  The…