"Genetically engineered corn could harm aquatic ecosystems." Catchy title, right? In summary, the scientists found that caddisflies, a common prey of freshwater fish, can be killed when they eat parts of transgenic corn plants that are expressing the BT toxin.…
Biofortified Blog
Mini-chromosomes
Where a transgene incorporates into a plant's chromosomes can not be controlled. So, scientists have to transform many plants, and hope that at least one individual didn't have the transgene interrupt a native gene. One solution to this problem is…
News: GMO poplar trees, recycling, stress reduction
Poplar trees genetically engineered to remove carcinogens from groundwater. The trees have been genetically engineered with a gene for an enzyme that breaks down contaminants in groundwater. The gene is actually from rabbits, where the enzyme breaks down toxins in…
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News: ‘Moral Footprint’, ‘Crossroads’, ‘mobile slaughter units’
Vaclav Havel, of Prague, wrote an intriguing editorial about global warming in the NY Times title "Our Moral Footprint." With my recent trip to Prague, I was intrigued to see how someone from the Czech Republic might feel about the…
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Teosintes are a puzzlebox of genes
Teosinte is a so-called primitive version of corn. Basically it's corn's version of our monkey, but corn and teosinte can still interbreed. To a corn breeder, teosinte is a puzzle box of genes that have been lost from maize cultivars.…
News: chicken feed, stress tolerant rice, shark overfishing
Chickens fed an enzyme have less phosphorus in their waste. Animals can not digest most of the phosphorus in their grain based feed because of the way it is tied up in the molecules phytate and phytic acid (which occur…
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Caffeine in everything!
We've all tried those chocolate covered espresso beans, and were left spitting out bitter bits of bean. A new product provides that boost without the yuck factor. 'Sumseeds' will be coming soon to a truck stop near you. They are…
Flu shots from caterpillars
Genetic engineering at its best! An article from the Discovery Channel describes a promising new method of producing vaccines. The current method takes about nine months each year. It relies on hens laying millions of eggs. Live flu viruses injected…
Just one misconception
I just got back from a visit with a nutritionist. I generally make good choices, but wanted to get concrete numbers for what my daily fat, protein, and carb intakes should be. She was really nice, and was candid enough…
World Food Prize Day
Today was the World Food Prize Symposium, where policy makers from around the world meet to discuss world food problems. The prize was started by Norman Borlaug. His took the idea of hybrids from corn production in Iowa (where he…