Biotech News

Defeating potato late blight with farmers’ help in Uganda

August 19, 2021

C I P International Potato Center July 27, 2021 Farmer Bone-Konsira Tumwesigye holds some potatoes in her hands. To get a good harvest, she must spray her field with fungicides on a weekly basis, a labor intensive, time consuming and expensive undertaking. Credit: CIP Successful innovation for agriculture will depend on thorough and careful understanding of the…

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Seeding a Sustainable Future

July 19, 2021

Every year, America’s farmers do something incredible: they nurture a small seed or sprout until harvest in order to provide all of us with an affordable supply of food. For sugarbeet growers, a sugarbeet seed is not only the starting point for the production of sugar, but is also an important part of sugar’s sustainability…

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End of GM ban ‘a great step forward’ for NSW farmers, biotech companies, grains group says

July 12, 2021

Biotech lobby group CropLife is hailing the lifting of a ban on genetically modified (GM) food crops in New South Wales as a “great step forward”, but after 18 years in limbo the state’s agricultural sector has some catching up to do. Around the world, the growth in GM crops is beginning to accelerate. Almost 200 million hectares…

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Credit: AFP

South Africa has reaped major benefits from GM maize, study finds

July 8, 2021

Genetically modified (GM) maize has greatly improved food security in South Africa, reduced environmental damage and helped smallholder farmers achieve significant gains in earnings over the past two decades, a new study finds. This marks South Africa as a success story in the cultivation of insect-resistant Bt white maize, given that it was the first…

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Swiss voters ‘overwhelmingly’ reject activist-proposed synthetic pesticide ban, referendum results show

June 18, 2021

A referendum campaign banner in Ollon, Switzerland, against the use phytosanitary products ahead of a vote on banning the use of pesticides in Swiss agriculture. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation. Voters in Switzerland on…

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Viewpoint: Battling corporate takeover of agriculture? Activists who oppose GMOs and other forms of farming biotechnology hurt vulnerable populations they claim to want to protect

May 26, 2021

Activist groups which oppose so-called ‘genetically modified organisms’ (GMOs) frequently affirm that they want to fight corporations and capitalism. While I do not discuss whether this legitimate ideological-political attitude is good or bad, right or wrong, I try to show that such avowed anti-industrial struggle in the field of green biotechnologies not only fails to…

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AgTech Startup Inari Nabs New Funding at $1.2 Billion Valuation

May 19, 2021

Inari, a startup specializing in seed technology, has reached a $1.2 billion valuation after raising $208 million in fresh financing. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company’s funding round was co-led by Flagship Pioneering, which founded the firm. New investors included G Squared and Pavilion Capital, while participating existing backers include Alexandria Venture Investments, Investment Corp. of Dubai,…

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The Regulatory Landscape for Genome-edited Plants is Rapidly Changing, Experts Say

May 18, 2021

Developments in regulations of genome-edited plants are rapidly changing and continue to evolve as more countries firm up their regulatory policies. This is according to the Transgenic Research article authored by international biotech experts. The article presents the latest legal and regulatory developments in various jurisdictions including Canada, Argentina, Brazil, the USA, Kenya, Nigeria, South…

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USDA deregulates Simplot’s Snowden Z6 genetically engineered potato variety

May 3, 2021

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is extending deregulation to J.R. Simplot Company’s (Simplot) potato variety developed using genetic engineering, designated as Snowden Z6 (Z6 potato). The potato variety is engineered for late blight protection, lowered reducing sugars, low acrylamide potential and reduced black spot bruising. APHIS previously…

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Japan launches world’s first gene-edited tomato

April 8, 2021

The Sicilian Rogue High GABA tomato, developed by Japan’s Sanatech Seed, is said to help lower blood pressure. Rich with amino acid, the new variety is expected to help lower blood pressure; 5,000 home gardeners in Japan will grow the tomato in May this year Japan has launched a tomato variety rich with amino acid…

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