Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

Inject a gene from a certain cold-water fish into a strawberry, and the strawberry can withstand colder temperatures. But would you still want to eat it?

Such advances in genetic engineering have implications for helping feed a growing, hungry world but a lot of people aren't too keen on eating those advances just yet.

Others wouldn't hesitate.

The difference reflects the "wild, messy debate" surrounding genetically modified food, with one of the more recent skirmishes centering on whether food labels should contain information about such ingredients, according to Nick George, president of the Midwest Food Processors Association, based in Madison.

Wisconsin's agriculture and food production industries find themselves smack in the middle of the debate.

"This is a big issue," George said. "It's not going away."

Neither, it seems, are genetically engineered crops in the American food chain.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 93% of soybean acres and 85% of corn acres in 2013 were planted with genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant crop varieties.

The percentage of insect-resistant corn planted in 2013 stood at 76%, according to the USDA. The insect-resistant corn contains a gene from the soil bacterium Bt Bacillus thuringiensis. The bacteria produce a protein that is toxic to specific insects.

Consider that there are nearly 1.3 million dairy cows in Wisconsin, and some of them are no doubt eating corn with genetically modified ingredients.

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Debate rages over labeling genetically modified food

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

27-Jan-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, January 27, 2014Building on previous evidence showing that religious belief involves cognitive activity that can be mapped to specific brain regions, a new study has found that causal, directional connections between these brain networks can be linked to differences in religious thought. The article "Brain Networks Shaping Religious Belief" is published in Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers, and is available free on the Brain Connectivity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/brain.

Dimitrios Kapogiannis and colleagues from the National Institute on Aging (National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD) and Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, IL, analyzed data collected from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies to evaluate the flow of brain activity when religious and non-religious individuals discussed their religious beliefs. The authors determined causal pathways linking brain networks related to "supernatural agents," fear regulation, imagery, and affect, all of which may be involved in cognitive processing of religious beliefs.

"When the brain contemplates a religious belief," says Dr. Kapogiannis, "it is activating three distinct networks that are trying to answer three distinct questions: 1) is there a supernatural agent involved (such as God) and, if so, what are his or her intentions; 2) is the supernatural agent to be feared; and 3) how does this belief relate to prior life experiences and to doctrines?"

"Are there brain networks uniquely devoted to religious belief? Prior research has indicated the answer is a resolute no," continues study co-author Jordan Grafman, Director, Brain Injury Research and Chief, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. "But this study demonstrates that important brain networks devoted to various kinds of reasoning about others, emotional processing, knowledge representation, and memory are called into action when thinking about religious beliefs. The use of these basic networks for religious practice indicates how basic networks evolved to mediate much more complex beliefs like those contained in religious practice."

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About the Journal

Brain Connectivity is the journal of record for researchers and clinicians interested in all aspects of brain connectivity. The Journal is under the leadership of Founding and Co-Editors-in-Chief Christopher Pawela, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Bharat Biswal, PhD, Chair of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology. It includes original peer-reviewed papers, review articles, point-counterpoint discussions on controversies in the field, and a product/technology review section. To ensure that scientific findings are rapidly disseminated, articles are published Instant Online within 72 hours of acceptance, with fully typeset, fast-track publication within 4 weeks. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Brain Connectivity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/brain.

The rest is here:
Do brain connections help shape religious beliefs?

25 Jan 2014 00:01

PROFESSOR Sir Ken Murray, one of the first researchers in genetic engineering, saved many lives worldwide.

PRESSTEAM

A SCIENTIST who developed the first vaccine for hepatitis B has left 30million to the charity he founded in Edinburgh.

Professor Sir Ken Murrays groundbreaking work was credited with saving lives worldwide.

The 82-year-old, who worked at Edinburgh University for more than 30 years and was one of the first researchers in genetic engineering, died at home in the city last April.

His will reveals his estate was worth 45million with his fortune built on royalties from the vaccine.

The main beneficiaries are the Darwin Trust of Edinburgh, founded by Sir Ken in 1983.

They will receive 30million to support the education of young scientists and fund research and facilities at Edinburgh University.

Trust chairman Dr John Tooze, 75, said: Ken was an extraordinary man who remained very modest despite the huge royalties that his hepatitis B vaccine brought him.

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Man who developed first vaccine for hepatitis B leaves £30million to charity

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Jan-2014

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

New Rochelle, January 23, 2014The search for extraterrestrial life extends far beyond Earth's solar system, looking for planets or moons outside the "stellar habitable zone" that may have environments even more favorable to supporting life than here on Earth. These superhabitable worlds have unique characteristics and are ideal targets for extrasolar exploration, as described in a provocative Hypothesis Article in Astrobiology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Astrobiology website.

In "Superhabitable Worlds" Ren Heller, McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) and John Armstrong, Weber State University (Ogden, UT), propose how tidal heating can create conditions in which life could emerge on an icy or terrestrial planet or moon once thought to be uninhabitable.

"A great place for hydrothermal microorganisms and a volcanic eruption in the weather forecast every morning and evening," says Norman Sleep, Senior Editor for Astrobiology and Professor in the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University, "a tidally heated planet would be unpleasant though spectacular to visit."

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About the Journal

Astrobiology, led by Editor-in-Chief Sherry L. Cady, Chief Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and a prominent international editorial board comprised of esteemed scientists in the field, is the authoritative resource for the most up-to-date information and perspectives on exciting new research findings and discoveries emanating from interplanetary exploration and terrestrial field and laboratory research programs. The Journal is published monthly online with Open Access options and in print, and is the Official Journal of the Astrobiology Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Astrobiology website.

About the Publisher

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Looking for a 'superhabitable' world? Try Alpha Centauri B, says Astrobiology Journal

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Jan-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, January 23, 2013-The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates adequate enrollment of women in post-approval studies (PAS) of medical devices to ensure that any sex differences in device safety and effectiveness are not overlooked. A group of authors from the FDA report the results of a study evaluating the participation of women and analysis of sex differences in PAS in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website.

Women may respond differently to medical devices due to factors such as genetics, body size, hormones, or other intrinsic sex-specific or extrinsic societal or environmental factors. They may face greater or lesser risk of adverse events or derive more or less benefit. "Based on these findings, FDA implemented new procedures to ensure participation by sex is evaluated in PAS reviews," state the authors in their article "Enrollment and Monitoring of Women in Post-Approval Studies for Medical Devices Mandated by the Food and Drug Administration."

"It is critically important that we have adequate participation of women in clinical trials, and that we analyze sex differences in study outcomes and adverse events," says Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health.

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About the Journal

Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. The Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website. Journal of Women's Health is the Official Journal of the Academy of Women's Health and the Society for Women's Health Research.

About the Academy

Continued here:
Are enough women included in medical device studies, as required by the FDA?

Montral (PRWEB) January 23, 2014

Today, with the addition of members in Antarctica, Synbiota Inc. connects synthetic biology researchers across all 7 continents, just 3 months after the company's launch. Also announced today is $300,000 in available funding for Synbiota members and their biological solutions.

"Genetic engineering is our best bet to save the world," says Bill Liao, Founder of CoderDojo, a global network of hackerspaces and partner at SOSVentures. "That's why we're offering Synbiota's global network of researchers and biohackers $300,000 in available funding to accelerate the development of sustainable biological solutions via the SynBio axlr8r program." Learn more, and sign up at synbiota.com/axlr8r.

Synbiota is satisfying a global need for advanced virtual lab technology with its free web-based software. Previously limited to large corporations such as Monsanto, genetic engineering is touted by experts as one of humanity's best tools to combat global challenges in climate, access to food, fuel, materials, and the development of effective, low-cost medicine.

"Biotech is advancing much faster than computer technology, and Synbiota is at the heart of this revolution" says Rob Carlson, principal at Biodesic, and synthetic biology advisor to corporations and governments around the world. "Bringing together a global cadre of independent researchers, and pairing them with real funding opportunities is just the sort of thing that ignites revolutions. This is an incredible opportunity for the iGEM, DIYBio, and entrepreneurial communities to fund their work."

About Synbiota:

Synbiota Inc. was founded in April 2013 with the mission to streamline life science R&D and to make it universally accessible. Synbiota was a Fellow of Mozilla Labs WebFWD, winner of Hacking Healths Most Transformative Technology award, recipient of grants from FedDev and the Eastern Ontario Development Program, and creator of the S PRIZE global biotech contest. Synbiota Inc. has offices at the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University (DMZ) in Toronto, and Maison Notman in Montral.

See the article here:
Synbiota Expands Into Antarctica, Attracts Investors

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Jan-2014

Contact: Sophie Mohin smohin@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2254 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, January 21, 2014 Too much information can be overwhelming, but when it comes to certain types of data that are used to build predictive models to guide decision making there is no such thing as too much data, according to an article in Big Data, the highly innovative, peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Big Data website.

To determine whether more data is really better for predictive modeling, Enric Junqu de Fortuny and David Martens, University of Antwerp, Belgium, and Foster Provost, New York University, NY, tested nine different applications in which they built models using a particular type of data called fine-grained data, such as observing an individual's behavior in a certain setting. In the article "Predictive Modeling with Big Data: Is Bigger Really Better?" the authors state that "certain telling behaviors may not be observed in sufficient numbers without massive data."

"The power of any analytic tool is in using it appropriately," says Founding Editor, Edd Dumbill. "Sweeping assumptions such as 'bigger is better' can be dangerous. This paper significantly advances our knowledge of when massive datasets improve decision-making ability."

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About the Journal

Big Data, published quarterly in print and online, facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, analysts, statisticians, business leaders, and policymakers to improve operations, profitability, and communications within their organizations. Spanning a broad array of disciplines focusing on novel big data technologies, policies, and innovations, the Journal brings together the community to address the challenges and discover new breakthroughs and trends living within this information.

About the Publisher

Excerpt from:
Bigger (data) is better and can improve decision making

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Jan-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, January 22, 2014Metastatic melanoma has a poor prognosis, but treatment with high-dose interleukin-2 (IL2) can extend survival. Now, a combination of IL2 therapy and activation of patients' immune systems using personalized vaccines made from their own tumor cells has been shown to improve survival rates even more than IL2 alone, according to a new article in Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals website.

"High-Dose IL2 in Metastatic Melanoma: Better Survival in Patients Immunized with Antigens from Autologous Tumor Cell Lines" describes a statistically significant improvement in survival for patients who received IL2 plus tumor cell-based immunotherapy. Authors Robert Dillman, Carol DePriest and Stephanie McClure, Hoag Institute for Research and Education, Hoag Family Cancer Institute, and Cancer Biotherapy Research Group, Newport Beach, CA, found that administration of immunotherapy after IL2 treatment resulted in longer patient survival than if individuals were vaccinated before receiving IL2.

"This is an important addition to the literature on IL2 treatment for metastatic melanoma demonstrating that personalized vaccine therapy contributed to an increased survival rate," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD, Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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About the Journal

Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, published 10 times a year in print and online, is under the editorial leadership of Editors Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD and Robert K. Oldham, MD, Lower Keys Cancer Center, Key West, FL. Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals is the only journal with a specific focus on cancer biotherapy, including monoclonal antibodies, cytokine therapy, cancer gene therapy, cell-based therapies, and other forms of immunotherapy. The Journal includes extensive reporting on advancements in radioimmunotherapy and the use of radiopharmaceuticals and radiolabeled peptides for the development of new cancer treatments. Topics include antibody drug conjugates, fusion toxins and immunotoxins, nanoparticle therapy, vascular therapy, and inhibitors of proliferation signaling pathways. Tables of content and a sample issue are available on the Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals website.

About the Publisher

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Can personalized tumor vaccines improve interleukin-2 treated metastatic melanoma?

AP/January 22, 2014

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) New Hampshires House killed a bill Wednesday that would have required genetically modified foods to be labeled.

The House voted 185-162 to kill the bill, despite supporters arguments it is time for states like New Hampshire to lead on the issue regardless of the federal governments position.

Supporters argued New Hampshire residents have a right to know whether their food is produced with genetic engineering, but critics said the federal Food and Drug Administration has not mandated the labeling because it determined the foods are safe.

The reality is most of us are living every day with the benefits of genetic engineering, said Rep. Linda Lauer, D-Bath. She said insulin has been genetically engineered since 1982. Prior to that insulin was taken from the pancreas of farm animals, she said.

Lauer said the labeling required under the bill would not tell consumers what was in the food, only that it had been genetically engineered. She said the label wouldnt provide accurate information about the foods. For example, genetically engineered beets are used to produce sugar, which is a pure chemical compound. Despite its purity, any foods containing the sugar would have to be labeled, she said.

But Rep. Peter Bixby, D-Dover, said people have a right to know if genetic engineering modified the foods.

People are responsible for their own decisions, but to make those decisions they need information, he said.

But opponents said wary consumers could buy organic foods or foods labeled as not being genetically modified. They said the industry is beginning to respond to consumers wishes for genetically engineered foods to be labeled,

The market will solve this problem. It moves a little slow, but it will solve the problem, said Rep. Robert Haefner, R-Hudson.

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House rejects genetically modified foods labeling

Genetic Engineering Project
Science Project.

By: Jackie Tiongco

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Genetic Engineering Project - Video