Latest News

May 2008

University to Grow GM Crops
09 May 2008 The Press Association
The University of Leeds will now go ahead with plans to grow potatoes that are resistant to roundworms.

Results of the GMO Compass Snapshot Poll
08 May 2008 GMO Compass
A survey carried out by Emnid in Germany shows that the reservations against agricultural genetic engineering were reduced if the global food crisis was eased through GM plants.

Concentrate on Abundance
08 May 2008 The Truth about Trade & Technology
We need not only lab-jacketed researchers who can make the most of what biotechnology has to offer, but also level-headed policy makers who aren’t frightened of innovation.

Navigating the Genetic Engineering Maze
08 May 2008 Science Centric
In the decade since genetically modified strains of maize resistant to insects have been grown in the European Union, crop yields have gone up, farmers' reliance on insecticides has fallen significantly and the quality of maize has improved.

Call to Review GM Feed Restrictions
08 May 2008 The Irish Examiner
The EU’s system for importing livestock feeds made from genetically modified crops has been slammed as “fundamentally unbalanced and discriminatory” by the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development chairman Neil Parish.

Sugarcane Biofuel bBcomes Brazil's Second Energy Source
08 May 2008 AFP
Biofuel and other derivatives from sugarcane have for the first time overtaken hydroelectric power as an energy source in Brazil, according to an annual official study released Thursday.

Australia May Use Genetically Modified Canola in 2% of Crop
07 May 2008 Bloomberg
Grain growers in Australia, the world's third-largest canola exporter, may produce as much as 2 percent of this year's harvest from genetically modified seed after bans on GM crops were lifted in two states.

Monsanto's Strong Cash Position Allows it to Extend Competitive Lead, Return Value to Shareowners and Farmers
06 May 2008 Monsanto
Monsanto Company's strong operating cash position gives it the resources to extend its competitive lead, Monsanto's Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Terry Crews will tell investors tomorrow.

Food vs. Fuel A Global Myth
06 May 2008 The Chicago Tribune
With so much corn being turned into fuel, food shortages must inevitably result, and biofuel programs must be the cause. However, that's completely untrue.

Is This the Rice Super-Gene?
05 May 2008 AFP
Researchers in China have pinpointed an elusive gene that plays a linchpin role in determining the harvest potential of rice, according to a study released on Sunday by the journal Nature Genetics.

Modified Crops Expected to Gain Ground as World Seeks to Urgently Raise Output
02 May 2008 Engineering News
Genetically modified (GM) crop production increased by 30% in South Africa in 2007 compared with production for 2006, says farmer body AgriSA president Lourie Bosman.

Vietnamese Scientists Extract Biodiesel from Sesame
02 May 2008 Crop Biotech Net
Recently, experts from the Tropical Biology Institute have successfully extracted bio-diesel from seeds of wild sesame trees. Dr. Thai Xuan Du from the Institute’s Cell Technology Department said that oil extraction can be performed easily using local technology and equipment.

Is It Time For the EU to End Their GM Isolation?
02 May 2008 Farmers Guardian
Soaring global hunger for food, and equally stratospheric commodity price rises, demand that the EU’s policies on GM food are reappraised.

Bush Backs Modified Crops to Ease Crisis
02 May 2008 Financial Times
The US president said modified crops offered a ­partial solution to the food crisis gripping some parts of the world because of their high yields and resistance to drought and disease. “These crops are safe,” he said, “and they hold the promise of producing more food for more people.”

Press Briefing on Food Aid
02 May 2008 The White House
Biotechnology and crops developed through biotechnolgy really have done wonderful things in terms of crop yield, drought resistance and insect resistance.

Oilseed Rape Resistant to Sclerotinia
02 May 2008 Crop Biotech Net
The GM lines showed up to 91 percent disease reduction compared to its non-transgenic counterparts.

GM Pines Cleared of Risk to the Environment
02 May 2008 The New Zealand Herald
A trial cultivation of genetically modified pine trees in the open has shown no demonstrable risk to the environment, says research agency Scion.

Monsanto Company Announces Development of New Learning Center Focused on Water Usage and Crop Production
02 May 2008 Monsanto
Monsanto Company today announced plans to create a new center that will focus on technologies, corn breeding and agronomic practices to address water management in crop production.

South Korea Begins Imports of Biotech Corn
02 May 2008 Associated Press
Major South Korean corn processors have begun importing genetically modified varieties of the crop because of shortages of conventional corn on the world market since China began limiting its exports, officials said Friday.

New Source for Biofuels Discovered
01 May 2008 All About Feed
A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels, report scientists from The University of Texas at Austin who say the microbe could provide a significant portion of the nation’s transportation fuel if production can be scaled up.

The Great Organic Myths: Why Organic Foods Are An Indulgence The World Can't Afford
01 May 2008 The Independent
They're not healthier or better for the environment – and they're packed with pesticides. In an age of climate change and shortages, these foods are an indugence the world can't afford.

A Research Menu
01 May 2008 Nature
More spending on agricultural science is needed to help resolve the world's food crisis.

Plant-produced Vaccines Against Flu Provide Protection
01 May 2008 BioPharma
InB:Biotechnologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Integrated BioPharma, Inc., announced today that prototypes of the Company's influenza subunit vaccines provided complete protection against infection in the ferret challenge model and proved highly immunogenic in a mouse model.