News
2023-06-20 | permalink
CRISPRthripsis in plants
Gene scissors found to cause chaos in the genome of tomatoes
20 June 2023 / Recent scientific findings have revealed chromothripsis-like effects after the application of CRISPR/Cas in the genome of tomatoes. Chromothripsis refers to a phenomenon in which often several hundred genetic changes occur simultaneously in a 'catastrophic' event. Many sections of the genetic material can be swapped, twisted, recombined or even lost if this occurs.
It has been known for some time that ‘CRISPRthripsis’, which is another term for the above-described phenomenon, occurs in mammalian (and human) cells. This effect has now been also demonstrated in plants after gene scissor applications. The new study was already published during the peer-review process. The findings show that gene scissor applications cause unintended genetic alterations much more frequently than previously thought, affecting large parts of the genome.
testbiotech: CRISPRthripsis in plants2023-05-29 | permalink
Australia: An application to field trial GM perennial ryegrass
Perennial ryegrass win!
An application to field trial GM perennial ryegrass as 'more nutritious' animal feed was withdrawn. GeneEthics had told the OGTR the trial could not be contained and more weeds would result. Grown as a pasture and lawn grass the plant is also an aggressive, invasive weed that would spread more widely. If approved, we expected more weedicides would be sprayed, adding to their $5 billion annual cost.
2023-05-27 | permalink
Young Canadians are willing to pay more for organic food
A new survey conducted by Research Co. has found that young Canadians aged 18 to 34 are more likely to be willing to pay a premium for food that is organic or free-from genetically modified organisms (GMO).
Of the 1,000 people involved in the survey, 41 per cent said they would not pay a higher price for organic food. The proportion increases to 57 per cent among people aged 55 and over, but decreases to 41 per cent among those aged 35 to 54. Only about one-quarter (23 per cent) of younger Canadians aged 18 to 34 said they wouldn’t pay more for organic food, according to the survey.
The survey found similar results regarding non-GMO food, with 31 per cent of people expressing their unwillingness to pay a premium for free-from GMO food. The proportion is higher (38 per cent) among those aged 55 and over and similar (31 per cent) among those aged 35 to 54 and lower (22 per cent) for those aged 18 to 34.
2023-05-25 | permalink
CRISPR mustard greens for the US
Pairwise to sell mustard greens as salad leaves
The biotech company, Pairwise, has announced that it will soon bring mustard greens produced using new genetic engineering (New GE) techniques to the US market. The plants are genetically engineered with the aim of making the leaves less pungent, and the company has also applied for a patent (WO2021030738). According to a 2022 publication, New GE was used to alter 17 genes in the plant genome in parallel.
2023-05-25 | permalink
USA: What's up with fake meat?
Meat Substitutes and Health
"Plant-based meat alternatives are not created equal," agrees Mark Hyman, MD, founder of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine. A whole-food organic mushroom or lentil burger is good for you, he notes, but "a highly processed GMO soy burger with 110 times the glyphosate needed to harm your microbiome? Maybe not."
Not only does the glyphosate used on GMO soy appear to harm the gut microbiome, it's been deemed a likely carcinogen by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer. Research also suggests that glyphosate can trouble our endocrine systems.
Newer meat substitutes contain other dicey ingredients. "[A popular fake burger] contains pea-protein isolate, which is a processed pea protein, so it is stripped of many nutrients," says functional-medicine practitioner Liz Lipski, PhD, CNS, LDN. "The canola oil doesn't state that it's organic, which means it is GMO."
