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Vegans Who Favor Genetic Engineering

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Before I stumbled across vegangmo.com the other day I thought I knew the arguments for and against genetically-engineered crops.

The Vegan GMO website showed me I don't know as much as I thought. The site's "why are we vegans pro GMO?" page (http://www.vegangmo.com) lists four reasons, three of which were new to me:

-- Some safety tests for GE crops involve animal experiments;

-- Genetic engineering could create "animal alternative" foods that would encourage more veganism, like artificial cheese;

-- Genetic engineering could create plants containing nutrients vegans lack, like vitamin B12 and DHA;

-- GE crops use less fertilizer and pesticides, so fewer insects and fish are killed, and "no- or low-till agriculture will save the lives of ground-dwelling animals."

It was the first reason -- opposition to animal tests -- that led me to the site. I had been reading up on a study purporting to show that pigs consuming genetically-engineered corn and soybeans had developed health problems. Vegan GMO had quoted (http://www.vegangmo.com), a rebuttal charging that "this study subjects animals to inhumanely poor conditions resulting in health impacts which can then be data-mined to present 'evidence' against GMO feeds."

The rebuttal, by British environmentalist and recent pro-GE convert Mark Lynas, leveled other broadsides at the study (http://tiny.cc/). It noted that while the study's authors highlighted one measure on which the GE-fed pigs scored worse than those on conventional feed, on several health measures the GE-fed pigs had scored better.

As you might expect, though, the vegan website's excerpt from the Lynas rebuttal stuck with the animal-cruelty argument.

"Most damning of all," the excerpt continued, "close to 60% of both sets of pigs were suffering from pneumonia at the time of slaughter -- another classic indicator of bad husbandry. Had they not been slaughtered, all these pigs might well have died quickly anyway. No conclusions can be drawn from this study, except for one -- that there should be tighter controls on experiments performed on animals by anti-biotech campaigners, for the sake of animal welfare."

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Vegans Who Favor Genetic Engineering

World Stem Cell Summit to be presented by Genetics Policy Institute, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., and Genetic Engineering …

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Public release date: 10-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, June 10, 2013The Genetics Policy Institute (GPI) and Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers have announced that the 2013 World Stem Cell Report will be published as a special supplement to the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cells and Development. Dr. Graham Parker and Bernard Siegel will serve as Co-Editors-in-Chief, joined by Rosario Isasi (McGill University) as Managing Editor.

It was also announced that Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers and Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), a Liebert publication, will become joint platinum media sponsors of the GPI's 2013 World Stem Cell Summit that will take place at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, December 4 in San Diego, CA.

Bernard Siegel, Executive Director of GPI and Founder and Co-chair of the Summit said, "We are proud to partner with Graham Parker and the skilled editorial team at Stem Cells and Development to publish our annual Report. The Journal's extensive audience, combined with the reach of the community attending and supporting the World Stem Cell Summit, will allow our readership to expand exponentially. We will continue to provide an array of specialized articles offering unique insights of leading policy-makers, regulators, and experts in law, ethics, advocacy, industry, and philanthropy from countries, regions, and states. The Report fills a critical unmet need by providing a global framework for all stakeholders."

Mary Ann Liebert, publisher & CEO of both Stem Cells and Development and GEN stated, "We are delighted to be working with a key thought leader and senior statesman for the field, Bernie Siegel, and his GPI team on this important collaboration. The World Stem Cell Report delivers an orbital and unique viewpoint, with content that is timely, comprehensive, and direct. We are proud to add this important annual publication to our many journals that intersect the world of regenerative medicine."

GEN Editor-in-Chief John Sterling stated, "The World Stem Cell Summit is the critical global meeting, providing the best opportunity for the GEN community to participate in the world of regenerative medicine. Our platinum media sponsorship allows GEN readers, both in print and online, and advertisers to have a front row seat to listen and learn from the top experts on the very dynamic and expertly conceptualized Summit platform."

The Report will be made available to all subscribers of Stem Cells and Development and complimentary to attendees of the World Stem Cell Summit. The Summit program delivers on the "big picture" featuring 170+ prominent scientists, business leaders, regulators, policy-makers, advocates, economic development officers, experts in law and ethics, and visionary gurus who will discuss the latest scientific discoveries, business models, legal and regulatory solutions, and best practices. The Summit is expected to attract attendees from more than 40 nations.

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Cellular Dynamics International Expands MyCell Products Line with Disease Models, Genetic Engineering Patents

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MADISON, Wis., June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) today announced that it has expanded its MyCell Products line, offering access to a number of human disease models and licensing key genetic engineering patents from Life Technologies and Sigma-Aldrich. CDI's MyCell Products include custom cell products manufactured using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to make stem cells or differentiated cells from any individual, including those with diseases of interest to pharmaceutical and academic researchers.

CDI's MyCell Products now offer access to a number of disease models, including cardiomyopathies and arrhythmias, vision disorders, neurological disorders, and muscular dystrophies. In addition, the company is actively working on expanding its disease model offering, currently working on additional disease models for neurodegenerative disorders and drug-induced liver injury (DILI).

Within the MyCell Products line, CDI maintains the iPSC line of each of the disease models, enabling customers to request manufacture of differentiated cells, such as cardiomyocytes, neurons, hepatocytes, and endothelial cells, for their discovery research.

In addition, CDI has licensed Life Technologies' GeneArt Precision TALs (TALENs) and Sigma's CompoZr ZFN technologies, which act like genomic scissors to cut DNA in a precise location. These nuclease technologies facilitate efficient genomic editing by creating double-stranded breaks in DNA at user-specified locations, stimulating the cell's natural repair process and enabling targeted gene insertions, deletions, or modifications. CDI will use the TALENs and ZFN technologies to perform genetic engineering specified by the customer, for example to introduce or correct a specific mutation, thus creating human disease models and isogenic controls.

"This expansion of the MyCell Products line is the next step in our growing disease-in-a-dish portfolio and allows our customers more ready access to diseases of interest from our growing catalog of iPSCs," said Chris Parker, CDI chief commercial officer. "Through the MyCell Products line, researchers can now access human disease models either through creation of iPSC-derived cells directly from a patient, or through inducing a disease state via use of these TALEN or ZFN technologies."

Bob Palay, CDI chief executive officer, said, "CDI's commercial goal has been to provide access to human cells that reproduce human biology, and we see both of these developments as steps toward achieving that goal. We're pleased to license these nuclease technologies from Life Technologies and Sigma-Aldrich, and the combination of these nuclease technologies with CDI's iPSC-derived cells creates a new, powerful tool to better understand and target human disease."

About Cellular Dynamics International, Inc.Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. (CDI) is a leading developer of stem cell technologies for in vitro use in drug discovery, toxicity testing and chemical safety, in vivo and cell-based therapeutic research and stem cell banking. CDI harnesses its unique manufacturing technology to produce differentiated tissue cells in industrial quality, quantity and purity from any individual's stem cell line created from a standard blood draw. CDI was founded in 2004 by Dr. James Thomson, a pioneer in human pluripotent stem cell research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. CDI's facilities are located in Madison, Wisconsin. CDI's headquarters are located in Madison, Wisconsin, with a second facility in Novato, California. See http://www.cellulardynamics.com.

Follow us on Twitter @CellDynamics or http://www.twitter.com/celldynamics

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Cellular Dynamics International Expands MyCell Products Line with Disease Models, Genetic Engineering Patents

Genetic Engineering Alters Mosquitoes’ Sense of Smell

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In one of the first successful attempts at genetically engineering mosquitoes, HHMI researchers have altered the way the insects respond to odors, including the smell of humans and the insect repellant DEET. The research not only demonstrates that mosquitoes can be genetically altered using the latest research techniques, but paves the way to understanding why the insect is so attracted to humans, and how to block that attraction.

The time has come now to do genetics in these important disease-vector insects. I think our new work is a great example that you can do it, says Leslie Vosshall, an HHMI investigator at The Rockefeller University who led the new research, published May 29, 2013 in the journal Nature.

By disrupting a single gene, we can fundamentally confuse the mosquito from its task of seeking humans. Leslie B. Vosshall

In 2007, scientists announced the completion of the full genome sequence of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits dengue and yellow fever. A year later, when Vosshall became an HHMI investigator, she shifted the focus of her lab from Drosophila flies to mosquitoes with the specific goal of genetically engineering the insects. Studying mosquitoes appealed to her because of their importance as disease carriers, as well as their unique attraction to humans.

Vosshalls first target: a gene called orco, which her lab had deleted in genetically engineered flies 10 years earlier. We knew this gene was important for flies to be able to respond to the odors they respond to, says Vosshall. And we had some hints that mosquitoes interact with smells in their environment, so it was a good bet that something would interact with orco in mosquitoes.

Vosshalls team turned to a genetic engineering tool called zinc-finger nucleases to specifically mutate the orco gene in Aedes aegypti. They injected the targeted zinc-finger nucleases into mosquito embryos, waited for them to mature, identified mutant individuals, and generated mutant strains that allowed them to study the role of orco in mosquito biology. The engineered mosquitoes showed diminished activity in neurons linked to odor-sensing. Then, behavioral tests revealed more changes.

When given a choice between a human and any other animal, normal Aedes aegypti will reliably buzz toward the human. But the mosquitoes with orco mutations showed reduced preference for the smell of humans over guinea pigs, even in the presence of carbon dioxide, which is thought to help mosquitoes respond to human scent. By disrupting a single gene, we can fundamentally confuse the mosquito from its task of seeking humans, says Vosshall. But they dont yet know whether the confusion stems from an inability to sense a bad smell coming from the guinea pig, a good smell from the human, or both.

Next, the team tested whether the mosquitoes with orco mutations responded differently to DEET. When exposed to two human armsone slathered in a solution containing 10 percent DEET, the active ingredient in many bug repellants, and the other untreatedthe mosquitoes flew equally toward both arms, suggesting they couldnt smell the DEET. But once they landed on the arms, they quickly flew away from the DEET-covered one. This tells us that there are two totally different mechanisms that mosquitoes are using to sense DEET, explains Vosshall. One is whats happening in the air, and the other only comes into action when the mosquito is touching the skin. Such dual mechanisms had been discussed but had never been shown before.

Vosshall and her collaborators next want to study in more detail how the orco protein interacts with the mosquitoes odorant receptors to allow the insects to sense smells. We want to know what it is about these mosquitoes that makes them so specialized for humans, she says. And if we can also provide insights into how existing repellants are working, then we can start having some ideas about what a next-generation repellant would look like.

Photo: Zach Veilleux (The Rockefeller University)

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Genetic Engineering Alters Mosquitoes’ Sense of Smell

GM Salmon, Genetic Engineering of Farm Animals to Arrive in Summer 2013 Despite Public Opposition – Video

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GM Salmon, Genetic Engineering of Farm Animals to Arrive in Summer 2013 Despite Public Opposition
By summer of 2013, US governing bodies, or, the alphabet soup of corruption (USDA, FDA, etc.) are expected to grant permission for scientists to roll out gen...

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GM Salmon, Genetic Engineering of Farm Animals to Arrive in Summer 2013 Despite Public Opposition - Video

In bed with Lucy and Dolly, Act One 1998, D.Fried (on genetic engineering and cloning) – Video

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In bed with Lucy and Dolly, Act One 1998, D.Fried (on genetic engineering and cloning)
( see transcript below ) Cast of characters: Lucy (the early hominid "Mother"), to Us ( Eve the "Myth" ), and to Dolly-the-Sheep (what Fried ironically refer...

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In bed with Lucy and Dolly, Act One 1998, D.Fried (on genetic engineering and cloning) - Video


  1. Genetic Engineering