Stronger Plants, Stronger Science, and Stronger Communication
In Why your fertility cells must have ‘radio silence’, researchers from Canada and Japan explain their discovery: “a previously unknown mechanism which causes embryonic germ cells – which later develop into sperm or ova – to go through a period of ‘transcriptional silence,’ during which information from the cell’s DNA cannot be copied. Without this…
An effort to protect the world’s germplasm will culminate in the opening of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on 26 February 2008, as reported by the BBC. This is a great idea, especially as habitat loss combines with climate change. We’re going to loose a lot of species and sub-species, which could leave the food…
Researchers at Texas A&M have developed carrots that have more bio-available calcium than wild-type carrots, according to a press release. Calcium deficiency leads to osteoporosis, which is one of the world’s most common diseases – affecting an estimated 50% of women and 25% of men. This is especially true when dairy is not an option…
Back in October, I posted about Poplar trees genetically engineered to remove carcinogens from groundwater. The project is moving from the experimental stage into real world application, as described in Fighting pollution the poplar way. The test site was used for oil storage in the 1960s, and became contaminated with trichloroethylene. TCE is an industrial…
Fish as human food present a unique problem. The protein they provide is high quality and low in fat. People all over the world enjoy fish as a staple of their diet. Unfortunately, the demand for fish has overtaxed natural populations. Regulation has been successful in some areas (Alaskan salmon), yet failed miserably in others…
The review article Transgenic strategies for the nutritional enhancement of plants (to be published in vol 12, issue 12 of Trends in Plant Science) discusses each of the methods used to improve nutrition for human populations that depend on one grain as their primary food source (the conclusions of the paper are after the cut)….
Nanobots and nanodevices are fully formed in concept, but some of the pieces are harder than others to actualize. “One of the major limitations in making implantable, nanomedical devices is providing power to them,” said Travis, … of Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine. [In Tethered To Chip, Energy Supply That Drives Sperm Could Power ‘Nanobot’…
New research from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign shows that pre-cooked entrees can be better preserved with grape-seed extract, as discussed in the SD article Natural Ingredient Preserves Meat Quality In Precooked Supermarket Offerings. The effect is attributed to phenolic compounds produced during fermentation. “I really think grape-seed extract is a viable, natural way…
Fried foods to become healthier: Proteins extracted from discarded fish muscle can create a protective barrier between food and oil. The food retains moisture, but doesn’t absorb the fat. From SD, Food Chemist Develops Protein-based Batter for Healthier Frying (click the link to see a video about the story). Going to the Proteus Institute website,…
Read More “Fish protein – ideal candidate for genetic engineering?” »
“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. This is certainly a problem, but one that has solutions. First of all, the actual…