GreenBio News - Last 20 News Articles with full text

Agriculture biotech increases at RTP

2012-02-10T13:48:47+01:00 GMT

DURHAM - BASF’s announcement this week that it was planning to re-locate its choice plant science headquarters to the Research Triangle Park was not a complete surprise to some local officials, who see the area as a hub for businesses in the agricultural biotechnology sector.

Improving Crops from the Roots Up

2012-02-10T13:44:53+01:00 GMT

Research involving scientists at The University of Nottingham has taken us a step closer to breeding hardier crops that can better adapt to different environmental conditions and fight off attack from parasites.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), the researchers have shown that they can alter root growth in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress, by controlling an important regulatory protein.

Farmers battle a super-bug

2012-02-10T13:42:15+01:00 GMT

An old bug might have learned a new trick in Illinois’ corn fields, outsmarting a strain of corn genetically engineered to produce its own insecticide.

It’s called the Western corn rootworm. And while farmers have battled the pest for decades, Midwestern crop scientists are now scrambling to figure out whether the larvae and adult bugs have developed into a super-bug, capable of eating corn that ought to kill it.

Unseen harvest of gene war on billion-dollar pest

2012-02-10T13:39:18+01:00 GMT

One of America's most widely planted crops - a genetically engineered corn plant that makes its own insecticide - may be losing its effectiveness because a major pest appears to be developing resistance more quickly than scientists expected.

The United States food supply is not in any immediate danger because the problem remains isolated. But scientists believe potentially risky farming practices could be blunting the hybrid's sophisticated weaponry.

More GMO crop propagation seen

2012-02-10T13:36:37+01:00 GMT

MANILA, Philippines - The number of genetically-modified (GM) crops with stacked traits will increase in time as more farmers opt for them, beginning with corn.

This prediction was made by Dr. Clarito Barron, director of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), after noting that 70 percent of farmers using GM corn are propagating crops with double traits and the use of three or four stacked traits may not be far off.

Barron confirmed that BPI reviewed and approved 67 transformation events, eight of which have applied for propagation.

Cotton stainer, future threat to Pakistan

2012-02-09T13:44:48+01:00 GMT

Islamabad - Cotton Commissioner (CC) Dr.Khaild Abdullah has said that Cotton stainer was a future threat to Pakistan because when a cropping system is shifted to a better one or new crop introduced may lead to a serous problem.

New study reignites debate over GMO safety

2012-02-09T13:40:30+01:00 GMT

Chinese researchers at Nanjing University have found small segments of rice ribonucleic acid (called microRNA or miRNA for its tiny size) in the blood and organs of people who eat conventional rice.

Bt corn farms expanding

2012-02-09T13:38:48+01:00 GMT

THE Philippines is the first and only country in Asia to grow a major gene-modified or biotech crop for food, feed, and processing: Bt corn MON 810 approved for commercialization in 2002.

It is also the first country in Southeast Asia to implement a regulatory system for gene-modified crops which started in 1990.

Next to rice, corn is the second most important crop in the Philippines with yellow corn accounting for 70 percent of livestock mixed feeds.

Domestic demand cannot be met due to the extensive damage by the Asian corn borer.

Dow AgroSciences, BioDuro to Collaborate on Crop Protection Discovery Research

2012-02-09T13:34:47+01:00 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS & WILMINGTON, N.C. - Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, and BioDuro, a PPD Company, announced a three-year, multi-program discovery research agreement to generate novel molecules for synthesizing and testing fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides across a variety of crops.

The two companies will leverage BioDuro’s deep expertise in medicinal chemistry and biochemistry and Dow AgroSciences’ agrochemical capabilities in this new agrochemical discovery collaboration.

Scientists Refute Claim That Genetically Modified Corn Caused New Insect Pest

2012-02-09T13:22:49+01:00 GMT

An article in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Integrated Pest Management refutes claims by Greenpeace Germany that the western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta, is "a new plant pest" that was "caused by genetically engineered corn."

The Greenpeace Germany report, which was written by author Richard Then of Testbiotech, offers a "surprisingly simplistic conclusion" regarding the spread of western bean cutworm over the last decade, according to the JIPM authors.

Making Poisonous Plants and Seeds Safe and Palatable: Canola Now, Cannabis Next?

2012-02-08T11:23:45+01:00 GMT

Every night millions of people go to bed hungry. New genetic technology can help us feed the world by making inedible seeds more edible, researchers say.

There are roughly about a quarter of a million plant species known on Earth. But we only eat between 5,000 and 10,000 of them. Many are poisonous to us -- such as lily of the valley. And many plants have no human nutritional value -- such as grass.

GM barley trial "success"

2012-02-08T11:19:39+01:00 GMT

WA-BASED researchers have heralded the first year of genetically modified barley trials a success.

The trials, held at Corrigin in the state’s central wheat belt, are looking at potential salt-tolerant varieties, and are being conducted by the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG)

ACPFG researcher Stuart Roy said that in low salt areas, GM barley yielded 20 to 30 per cent higher than non-GM barley.

More impressively, in salty areas, yields were up 50 to 70 per cent more grains per plant.

Corn Gene Helps Fight Multiple Leaf Diseases

2012-02-08T11:17:49+01:00 GMT

A specific gene in corn seems to confer resistance to three important leaf diseases, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists and their university colleagues.

This discovery, published in 2011 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could potentially help plant breeders build disease-resistance traits into future corn plants.

BASF and COFCO Tunhe work together for sustainable tomato production in China

2012-02-08T11:16:15+01:00 GMT

LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY - BASF and COFCO Tunhe, one of the world’s largest tomato producers and processors headquartered in Beijing, China, have entered a strategic cooperation to develop and enhance sustainable tomato cultivation in China.

The main goal is to design a production system that addresses needs throughout the food value chain. The two companies have begun to analyze the challenges that local tomato growers face in China and to match these to the demands of end-consumer food producers in export markets .

Increased crop yield through better insight in molecular networks

2012-02-08T11:14:28+01:00 GMT

Ghent, Belgium and Ludwigshafen, Germany - The VIB Department for Plant Systems Biology at Ghent University and BASF Plant Science announced a cooperation agreement in plant biotechnology.

Together they will develop a novel technology to identify genes and gene networks that control crop yield. The project, designated TopYield, will explore and unravel the large natural variability of plant growth under different conditions, including drought stress.

Disgruntled GMO firms start pulling out of EU market

2012-01-27T12:24:07+01:00 GMT

Monsanto has announced it will scrap plans to sell an insect-resistant maize in France, the second move in a week by biotech company to retreat from the genetically modified foods market in Europe.

Monsanto’s announcement came a week after Germany’s BASF said it would suspend the development of GM crops in Europe and move its plant science arm to the United States.

BASF’s move is a particular blow for Europe, said Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, director of agricultural biotechnology at EuropaBio.

UK’s Two Main Political Parties Back GMOs And The US Agenda

2012-01-27T12:16:03+01:00 GMT

Last week the Guardian announced that the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, Tories and Labour, were backing genetically modified food crops.

Mexican Progress on Biotech Crops

2012-01-27T12:11:35+01:00 GMT

The Mexican government has been supportive of the development of biotech crops, including corn, while recognizing the importance of centers of origin of corn and centers of genetic diversity.

Mexico’s biosafety law states that centers of origin for native corn species are not allowed to have biotech corn plantings. A recently released draft map by Mexican regulators of such centers would restrict areas for biotech corn production to only the northern areas of the country and non-arable desert areas. No timeframe has been provided for release of a final map.

National Campaign Pressures Walmart to Say No to GE Sweet Corn

2012-01-27T12:08:31+01:00 GMT

Washington, D.C. - With the 2012 growing season just around the corner, national consumer organization Food & Water Watch is challenging Walmart, the country’s largest food retailer, to measure up to its sustainability claims and say no to Monsanto’s first genetically engineered sweet corn.

Don't ignore benefits of GM, says chief scientist

2012-01-27T12:05:08+01:00 GMT

Genetically-modified crops could play an important role in helping prevent a future global food crisis, according to the government's chief scientific adviser.

Sir John Beddington said he saw no safety reasons for opposing GM crops, provided they were rigorously checked for their impact on health and the environment.