Cyrus Co. Genetic Engineering Episode 1(E.G.C.)
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By: E.G.C. Cyrus and Friends

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Cyrus Co. Genetic Engineering Episode 1(E.G.C.) - Video

By Isaac Fletcher, contributing writer, Food Online

J.R. Simplots Innate potato may provide potential health benefits through genetic engineering, but uncertainty over long-term risks and degree of benefits raise some concerns

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently approved for commercial planting a potato that has been genetically engineered to reduce the amounts of a potentially harmful ingredient that appear in French fries and potato chips. When potatoes are fried, a chemical called acrylamide, which is suspected of causing cancer, is produced. The genetic engineering involves altering the potatos DNA so that when the potato is fried, the amount of acrylamide that appears is reduced. Additionally, the genetically-engineered potato is resistant to bruising. This will help potato growers and processors lower the instances of damage during shipping and storage, leading to fewer occurrences of lost value and unusable product. The potatoes have been developed by the J.R. Simplot Company of Boise, Idaho, a major supplier of McDonalds frozen French fries.

Rather than solely providing benefit to farmers and producers, the potato is among a new wave of genetically-engineered crops designed to provide benefits to consumers. However, with many consumers calling into question the safety of genetically-modified foods, the new potato may face some challenges in winning over consumer approval. Such consumer concerns raise questions about whether the potatoes will be used by various food companies and restaurant chains.

In the 1990s, genetically-modified potatoes were introduced by Monsanto in an effort to provide resistance against the Colorado potato beetle. However, the market crumbled when major buyers of potatoes instructed suppliers to not grow them due to fears over consumer resistance. However, the new potato from Simplot has some advantages that may help it weather the tide of consumer uncertainty.

First of all, the potato aims to provide potential health benefits to consumers rather than just providing cost-savings to suppliers and producers. Furthermore, Simplot is a well-established power in the potato industry and has likely been laying the foundation for product acceptance among its customers. The other strength of Simplots potato is that, unlike many other genetically-engineered crops, the potatoes do not contain genes from any other species, instead, the potato contains fragments of potato DNA that serve to mute four of the potatoes own genes involved in the production of particular enzymes. For this reason, Simplot has chosen to call its product the Innate potato, an innocuous name that may help win over consumer acceptance. Haven Baker, head of potato development at Simplot, explains, We are trying to use genes from the potato plant back into the potato plant. We believe theres some more comfort in that.

However, that is not to say that the Innate potato will not face roadblocks along the way. There are some questions over the long-term effects of this kind of engineering and, according to Doug Gurian-Sherman, a plant pathologist and senior scientist at the Center for Food Safety, much about RNA interference the technique used to mute the genes is not fully understood. Gurian-Sherman argues, We think this is a really premature approval of a technology that is not being adequately regulated. Additionally, the benefits of reducing acrylamide levels by 50 to 75 percent are still unclear.

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USDA Gives Genetically-Engineered Potatoes The Thumbs Up

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

2-Dec-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, December 2, 2014--A study of active duty U.S. Marines who suffered a recent or previous concussion(s) examined whether persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS) and lingering effects on cognitive function are due to concussion-related brain trauma or emotional distress. The results are different for a recent concussion compared to a history of multiple concussions, according to the study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available Open Access on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/neu.2014.3363.

James Spira, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and University of Hawaii (Honolulu, HI), Corinna Lathan, AnthroTronix, Inc. (Silver Spring, MD), Joseph Bleiberg, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (Bethesda, MD), and Jack Tsao, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (Falls Church, VA), assessed the effects of concussion on persistent symptoms, independent of deployment history, combat exposure, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. They describe the results for persons with a recent concussion or who had ever had a concussion to those who had more than one lifetime concussion in the article "The Impact of Multiple Concussions on Emotional Distress, Post-Concussive Symptoms, and Neurocognitive Functioning in Active Duty United States Marines Independent of Combat Exposure or Emotional Distress".

John T. Povlishock, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma and Professor, Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, notes that "This study by Spira and colleagues represents an important contribution to our understanding of the negative impact of multiple concussions in a relatively large military population sustaining both deployment and non-deployment related trauma. The consistent observation that multiple concussive injuries are associated with worse emotional and post-concussive symptoms is an extremely important finding that must guide our evaluation of individuals, in both the military and civilian settings, who have sustained multiple concussive injuries. While the authors acknowledge some limitations of the current work and the need for future research to follow a similar cohort in terms of the time course and causality of the symptoms associated with concussion, overall this well done study adds significantly to our increased understanding of the adverse consequences of repetitive concussive/mild traumatic brain injury."

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About the Journal

Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://www.liebertpub.com/neu.

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Do concussions have lingering cognitive, physical, and emotional effects?