Genetic Engineering Process
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IMAGE:Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 15, 2015-Zehaf-Bibeau, the Islamist convert who recently killed a Canadian military reservist on duty in Ottawa, Canada, represents a type of attacker rarely discussed--a person so obsessed with an overvalued idea that it defines their identity and leads them to commit violence without regard for the consequences. Although it appears that the assailants in Paris had more ties with terrorist organizations, the individuals still fit the description of people acting on overvalued ideas. This emerging, and likely growing phenomenon is explored in the article, published in the Perspectives section of the journal, "Lone Wolf Killers: A Perspective on Overvalued Ideas," published in the peer-reviewed journal Violence and Gender, from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
The article is available free on the Violence and Gender website.
Author Matthew H. Logan, PhD, a 28-year veteran officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as well as an RCMP Criminal Investigative Psychologist (ret.), Ontario, Canada, explains that these killers do not always work alone, stating that "in the future I believe we will see more 'packs' of these wolves as they unite on common beliefs and themes."
"The violence we witnessed in Paris just days ago shook the world," says Violence and Gender Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.). "It was coldblooded, purposeful, and seemingly without remorse, driven by a unique self-righteous ideation of the killers. Dr. Matt Logan explains the 'motivating mindset' of young male offenders, sometimes loners and sometimes part of a group, whose 'overvalued ideas' combined with their own psychopathology is what motivates them to engage in this type of terror. 'Overvalued ideas do not constitute mental illness,' according to Dr. Logan, which makes this senseless, savage violence seem even more chilling and despicable."
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About the Journal
Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other original content, the Journal critically examines biological, genetic, behavioral, psychological, racial, ethnic, and cultural factors as they relate to the gender of perpetrators of violence. Led by Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.), Violence and Gender explores the difficult issues that are vital to threat assessment and prevention of the epidemic of violence. Violence and Gender is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, and is the official journal of The Avielle Foundation. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Violence and Gender website.
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IMAGE:New Space facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, engineers, analysts, investors, business leaders, and policymakers to capitalize on the opportunities of commercial space ventures. Spanning a broad array of... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 14, 2015--The commercial aviation industry has medical care standards, as does NASA for traditional space missions, and the emerging commercial space transportation industry will need to define medical care practices as well. The unique risks posed by commercial spaceflight warrant the establishment of Medical Levels of Care to account for the different phases of suborbital and orbital missions, as described in an article published in New Space, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the New Space website until February 14, 2015.
In the article "Considerations toward Defining Medical 'Levels of Care' for Commercial Spaceflight" ," Stefan Neis and David Klaus, University of Colorado, Boulder, review current medical care practices in the civilian aviation industry and traditional space exploration sector and offer suggestions for defining appropriate onboard levels of medical care for the commercial space transportation industry, related to different types and phases of flight. Suborbital tourist flights, for example, might require motion sickness and pain medications, oxygen masks, and possibly pressure suits onboard; whereas longer-term orbital flights would necessitate a higher level of care, including emergency medical equipment and training and perhaps spacesuits.
"Medical constraints are the most important discriminators in determining who in the general population can be a spaceflight participant. This original article adds critical new knowledge to an emerging discipline," says Editor-in-Chief of New Space Prof. Scott Hubbard, Stanford University.
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About the Journal
New Space facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, engineers, analysts, investors, business leaders, and policymakers to capitalize on the opportunities of commercial space ventures. Spanning a broad array of topics including technological advancements, global policies, and innovative applications, the journal brings the new space community together to address the challenges and discover new breakthroughs and trends in this epoch of private and public/private space discovery. The Journal is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print. Complete tables of content are available on the New Space website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science, technology, engineering, medical, and biomedical research, including Big Data, Soft Robotics, 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, and Astrobiology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's more than 80 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers website.
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Experts explore the medical safety needs of civilian space travel
Germanys Environment Ministry is hoping for a complete ban on green genetic engineering,but a Green party assessment warns that upcoming free trade agreements like TTIP and CETA could still bring genetically modified plants to the European market. EurActiv Germany reports.
After the European Parliament on Tuesday (13 January passed a new Directive on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in Europe, the German Environment Ministry is insisting on a complete ban on green genetic engineering in Germany.
It is very important that a political agreement be reached to generally apply the exclusion clause to Germany, emphasised State Secretary on Environment Jochen Flasbarth on Tuesday (13 January) in Berlin.
Under the new directive, EU member states will now be able to choose to opt-out, restricting or completely banning GMO cultivation within their borders. One of the leading proponents of such a legal ban in Germany is its Ministry of Agriculture, which is led by the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union (CSU). The Ministry also supports a national ban on cultivation.
In a position paper from the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Minister Barbara Hendricks outlines that she does not want to leave any backdoors open for genetic engineering. The GMO law must be changed, so that controversial green genetic engineering cannot be used under any pretextin Germany, she states in the document, according to a report in the Sddeutsche newspaper.
Green genetic engineering has turned out to be the wrong track, Hendricks said. It is risky for nature and the environment and is not desired by consumers. For this reason I would like us to use the EU rules in the future, that can guarantee freedom from genetic engineering in Germany, she explained.
Meanwhile, an assessment from the Bundestags Green Party faction sees the GMO ban as being threatened by free trade agreements the EU is planning with Canada (CETA) and the United States (TTIP).
Titled Free trade - gateway for agricultural genetic engineering, the study is an analysis, conducted by Christoph Then, of the possible consequences of TTIP based on the CETA text. Then concludes that with TTIP, EU standards for the protection of GMO-free agriculture, such as measures against contamination and maintaining clean seed, will be lowered in the medium-term. The author also predicts changes in the approval procedure.
The studys main conclusions are:
State Secretary Flachsbarth decidedly dismissed concerns over consumer protection. No lowering of standards, such as a softening of GMO regulation, will be accepted through TTIP.
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German Environment Ministry seeks unconditional GMO ban
IMAGE:AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, published monthly in print and online, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 13, 2014--A cure for HIV/AIDS is the ultimate goal of rapidly advancing research involving diverse and innovative approaches. A comprehensive collection of articles describing the broad scope and current status of this global effort is published in a special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers . The Special Issue on HIV Cure Research is available free on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.
In the Commentary "How to Cure AIDS: Feeling the Elephant", Guest Editor David Margolis, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, states, "The breadth and diversity of reports found in the issue reflect the many domains of investigation that must be brought to bear to solve challenges of persistent HIV infection, and provide one of the critical missing tools needed to end the worldwide AIDS pandemic."
HIV latency, in which reservoirs of virus persist despite effective antiretroviral therapy and are able to hide from existing anti-HIV drugs and the body's immune defenses, is one of the greatest remaining challenges to achieving a cure. Guochun Jiang and Satya Dandekar, University of California, Davis, discuss the potential of one emerging "shock-and-kill" strategy to eradicate latent viral reservoirs in the Review article "Targeting NF-B Signaling with Protein Kinase C Agonists As an Emerging Strategy for Combating HIV Latency".
Zelda Euler and Galit Alter, Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), present another latency reversal approach that uses "killer" monoclonal antibody-based drugs that can seek out and eliminate replication-competent HIV in combination with agents able to flush the virus out of its hiding places. The authors describe this novel strategy in the Review article "Exploring the Potential of Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics for HIV-1 Eradication".
"The HIV research community is turning its attention to a goal that seemed unimaginable not so long ago, the development of a cure for HIV/AIDS," says Thomas Hope, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. "To support that effort, we are focusing the first issue of 2015 on HIV cure related research and making the work available free to researchers and the public alike."
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About the Journal
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses , published monthly in print and online, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV and SIV and innovative approaches to HIV vaccine and therapeutic drug research, including the development of antiretroviral agents and immune-restorative therapies. The content also explores the molecular and cellular basis of HIV pathogenesis and HIV/HTLV epidemiology. The Journal features rapid publication of emerging sequence information and reports on clinical trials of emerging HIV therapies. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.
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Progress toward an HIV cure highlighted in special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses
IMAGE:The Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 13, 2015--Emerging data on the role of inflammation and the immune system in the development, growth, and spread of breast tumors have focused increased attention on the role cytokines such as interleukin and transforming growth factor- play in breast cancer initiation, protection, and metastasis. A comprehensive overview of this new knowledge and its potential to lead to novel therapeutic approaches is presented in a Review article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR) from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers . The article is available free on the JICR website until February 13, 2015.
"The Role of Cytokines in Breast Cancer Development and Progression", coauthored by Marcella Esquivel-Velzquez and colleagues from Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico (Mxico City) and Instituto Nacional de Salud Pblica (Morelos, Mexico), reviews the latest evidence to support a regulatory role for cytokines (proteins that mediate communication between cells of the immune system) in breast cancer and other cancer-related disorders. The article explores the link between cytokines, inflammation, and obesity, which is a significant risk factor for breast cancer. Other topics include the association between cytokines and blood vessel formation, breast cancer metastasis, immunosuppression and the ability of breast cancer cells to evade the immune system, and the potential role of cytokines as prognostic factors.
"This article provides a thorough discussion of the impact of inflammation and cytokine biology on many aspects of breast cancer and can serve as a helpful resource to find specific details regarding mechanisms and therapeutic potential," says Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research Co-Editor-in-Chief Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
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About the Journal
Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR) , led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research is an official journal of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the JICR website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Viral Immunology, AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, and DNA and Cell Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
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Do cytokines have a role in the initiation and progression of breast cancer?
IMAGE:AIDS Patient Care and STDs is the leading journal for clinicians, enabling them to keep pace with the latest developments in this evolving field. Published monthly online with... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 12, 2015--African Americans currently account for nearly half of all new HIV diagnoses, and among females, 64% of new HIV diagnoses affect Black/African American women. A series of articles reporting results from the Women of Color HIV Initiative, including topics such as linkage and barriers to care, treatment adherence, viral suppression, substance abuse, and violence, are published in a special issue of AIDS Patient Care and STDs, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The issue is available free on the AIDS Patient Care and STDs website.
The Women of Color HIV Initiative is a prospective study of more than 920 women who were enrolled in HIV care at one of nine sites (six urban and three rural) across the United States between 2010 and 2013. The Initiative was a Special Projects of National Significance funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration.
Arthur E. Blank, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, served as a Guest Editor of this special issue and as a contributing author. In the article "Health Status of HIV-Infected Women Entering Care: Baseline Medical Findings from the Women of Color Initiative," E. Byrd Quinlivan, MD and coauthors, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, New York University, City University of New York, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, report the activity limitations and health conditions affecting the study participants on entering HIV care. The women had more physical and mental health concerns than the general female population in the U.S. and, in particular, cardiovascular disease and diabetes were associated with activity limitation.
Elizabeth A. Eastwood, MD and colleagues, City University of New York, New York University College of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and SUNY School of Public Health, Brooklyn, NY, compare the sociodemographic features of the women who enrolled in HIV medical care. Urban women tended to report more barriers to care, substance abuse, and sexual risk behaviors. Women treated at urban sites were also, for example, more likely to be Hispanic, unemployed, and less educated, as described in the article "Baseline Social Characteristics and Barriers to Care from a Special Project of National Significance Women of Color with HIV Study: A Comparison of Urban and Rural Women and Barriers to HIV Care."
"Across the United States, Black/African American and Latina women are disproportionately affected by HIV, and many face daily struggles to engage in and remain in HIV primary care," says special issue Guest Editor Arthur E. Blank, PhD. "The articles in this issue use a variety of traditional and novel research approaches to document the barriers women of color face, and the factors that contribute to engaging and retaining them in care."
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About the Journal
AIDS Patient Care and STDs is the leading journal for clinicians, enabling them to keep pace with the latest developments in this evolving field. Published monthly online with Open Access options and in print, the Journal spans the full spectrum of adult and pediatric HIV disease, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and education. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the AIDS Patient Care and STDs website.
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Findings from the Women of Color HIV Initiative published in AIDS Patient Care and STDs journal
IMAGE:BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 12, 2014--A promising new therapeutic approach to treat a variety of diseases involves taking a patient's own cells, turning them into stem cells, and then deriving targeted cell types such as muscle or nerve cells to return to the patient to repair damaged tissues and organs. But the clinical effectiveness of these stem cells has only been modest, which may be due to the advanced age of the patients or the effects of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a probing Review article published in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers . The article is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.
Anastasia Yu. Efimenko, TN Kochegura, ZA Akopyan, and YV Parfyonova, Moscow State University (Russia), analyze how aging and chronic diseases might affect the regenerative potential of autologous stem cells and explain the differences between the promising results reported in preclinical studies using stem cells derived from healthy young donors and the more modest success of clinical studies in aged patients. The authors propose strategies to test for and enhance to regenerative properties and therapeutic potential of stem cells in the article "Autologous Stem Cell Therapy: How Aging and Chronic Diseases Affect Stem and Progenitor Cells".
"This review discusses a very important issue in regenerative medicine, how aging and chronic pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders affect adult stem/progenitor cells," says BioResearch Open Access Editor Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. "Future therapies are discussed by the authors in terms of overcoming or correcting the limitations of these cells in order to enhance their therapeutic potential."
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About the Journal
BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. All articles are published within 4 weeks of acceptance and are fully open access and posted on PubMed Central. All journal content is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many areas of science and biomedical research, including DNA and Cell Biology, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy, HGT Methods, and HGT Clinical Development, and AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
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Is stem cell therapy less effective in older patients with chronic diseases?
The Specimen-Teaser
Official Teaser trailer for The Specimen. Current planned platforms: Wii U eShop PC (steam) -Hyper Galaxy Studios Abducted from your home planet by a highly intelligent race obsessed with...
By: Hyper Galaxy Studios
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The Specimen-Teaser - Video
Bioethics Project - Should we perform prenatal genetic engineering in humans?
By Samantha, Eliesse and Nicole.
By: Samantha Hill
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Bioethics Project - Should we perform prenatal genetic engineering in humans? - Video
S033RS03 Science Topics Genetics and Genetic Engineering
Science Topics Genetics and Genetic Engineering #39;Science Topics #39; BBC schools programme. Series originally broadcast on BBC2 1983 - 1985. Repeated until 1992.
By: Lammas Science
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S033RS03 Science Topics Genetics and Genetic Engineering - Video
IMAGE:Soft Robotics, a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, combines advances in biomedical engineering, biomechanics, mathematical modeling, biopolymer chemistry, computer science, and tissue engineering... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 8, 2015-- By defining a set of key metrics to evaluate the fuel systems available to drive autonomous and wearable soft robots, a team of engineers and chemists are able to compare the advantages and limitations of current technology options. They assess various types of pneumatic energy sources and their benefits for specific applications in an article published in Soft Robotics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Soft Robotics website.
Michael Wehner and coauthors from Harvard University (Cambridge and Boston, MA), Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR), Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA), Robot G and I Research (Bedford, MA), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA), and Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), characterize the most advanced pneumatic energy systems designed to power untethered and wearable soft robots based on their energy density and flow capacity, as well as noise, toxic byproducts, application-specific requirements, and the time and additional parts needed for development. The goal of the study, entitled "Pneumatic Energy Sources for Autonomous and Wearable Soft Robotics," is to provide a framework for configuring fuel systems in soft robotics.
"As soft pneumatic systems start to gain acceptance in robotic applications, it is vital that the advantages and limitations of different energy systems are fully explored. This paper provides comparisons and analysis that will useful for anyone designing such systems," says Editor-in-Chief Barry A. Trimmer, PhD, who directs the Neuromechanics and Biomimetic Devices Laboratory at Tufts University (Medford, MA).
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About the Journal
Soft Robotics, a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, combines advances in biomedical engineering, biomechanics, mathematical modeling, biopolymer chemistry, computer science, and tissue engineering to present new approaches to the creation of robotic technology and devices that can undergo dramatic changes in shape and size in order to adapt to various environments. Led by Editor-in-Chief Barry A. Trimmer, PhD, and a distinguished team of Associate Editors, the Journal provides the latest research and developments on topics such as soft material creation, characterization, and modeling; flexible and degradable electronics; soft actuators and sensors; control and simulation of highly deformable structures; biomechanics and control of soft animals and tissues; biohybrid devices and living machines; and design and fabrication of conformable machines. Tables of content and a sample issue can be viewed on the Soft Robotics website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing and Tissue Engineering. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
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New study from Harvard compares design of fuel systems for soft robots
GMO is an abbreviation for a genetically modified organism whose genome has been altered by the techniques of genetic engineering so that its DNA contains one or more genes not normally found there.
Eighty per cent of our food contains some sort of GMO that you buy at the grocery store, and proponents of the technology point out theres not one incidence of human health issue. The USDA, the FDA, the CDC, and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization have all concluded that the technology is safe, and agricultural producers maintain that this technology is an absolutely necessary tool for them to be able to feed a growing world population. Travis Miller is the Interim Associate Director for State Operations for the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service.
Id encourage people, I like to do a garden myself, and Id encourage people to grow a garden but you cant feed the 300 million people in the United States all with back yard gardens, plus the 50% or more of our crop that we send overseas to feed other people. And GMOs have provided the technology that has reduced the pesticide use, has reduced the insect damage to our crops, has improved the quality of our crops, so that we do have the, its one of the many technologies that were now using to get the kind of yields we have to have to continue to feed the world.
Genetically Modified Organism technology is invaluable to plant breeders. If you look at what crops used to look like when we first started cultivating crops, the dont even resemble what we have today. And that was through traditional breeding technology, pollen from one source and pollen from another source. Problems that have plagued agriculture for decades are being addressed.
Now GMO is another important tool that a plant breeder can put in his tool box and say, oh, well what about this plant disease that we have, well heres a gene that I can take from a spinach plant and put in in a grapefruit and solve a disease thats going to take the citrus industry out.
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Organic agriculture is the most expensive, expansive hoax perpetrated on consumers during the past half-century. An affront to the environment because its low yields arewasteful of water and farmland, organic agricultureconfers no advantages except for the feel-good factor for true believers. It only survives because of massive government subsidies and promotion, and black marketing that dishonestly disparages the competition .
My exposs of the many shortcomings and waning credibility of the organic agriculture industry have received a prodigious amountof attention. A 2012 Forbes column got more than a quarter million views. My most recent one on this subject, last month, attracted not only tens of thousands of readers but also a complaint from Jessica Shade, who bills herself as Director of Science Programs at The Organic Center. Thats something of an oxymoron, inasmuch as science holds little sway atthe advocacy organization she works for.
Shades preamble establishes her lack of credibility: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic standards are based around the principles of sustainability and health. In addition, organic farming has many environmental advantages when compared to conventional farming.
None of that is true. Let me be clear about one thing, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman said when organic certification was being considered, the organic label is a marketing tool. It is not a statement about food safety. Nor is organic a value judgment about nutrition or quality.
Organic standards are wholly arbitrary, and in any case, as a recent report in the Wall Street Journal described, they are not being enforced very effectively: An investigation by the newspaper of USDA inspection records since 2005 found that 38 of the 81 certifying agentsentities accredited by USDA to inspect and certify organic farms and suppliersfailed on at least one occasion to uphold basic Agriculture Department standards. More specifically, 40% of these 81 certifiers have been flagged by the USDA for conducting incomplete inspections; 16% of certifiers failed to cite organic farms potential use of banned pesticides and antibiotics; and 5% failed to prevent potential commingling of organic and nonorganic products.
In December 1997, when USDA tried to set standards for organic agricultural production, the original version was rejected by the organic enthusiasts, largely because itwould have permitted the use of organisms modified with modern genetic engineering techniquesquite sensibly, in the view of the scientific community. In the end, modern genetic engineering, which employs highly precise and predictable techniques, was prohibited, while genetic modification with older, far less precise, less predictable and less effective techniques got waved through.
The resulting standards, which are based on a sentimental back-to-Nature, technological progress is evil ethic, arbitrarily define which pesticides are acceptable, but allow deviations if based on need. Synthetic chemical pesticides are generally prohibitedalthough there is a lengthylist of exceptions listed in the Organic Foods Production Actwhile most natural ones are permitted. The application as fertilizer of pathogen-laden animal excreta to the foods we eat is not only allowed, but in organic dogma, virtually sacred.
Dont let anyone confuse you: Organic pesticides can be toxic.As evolutionary biologist Christie Wilcoxexplainedin a 2012Scientific Americanarticle (Are lower pesticide residues a good reason to buy organic?Probably not.): Organic pesticides pose the same health risks as non-organic ones.
The designation organic is itself asyntheticconstruct of activists and bureaucrats that makes little sense.Moreover, organic standards are based on sets of principles and techniques which have nothing to do with the ultimate quality or composition of the final products. For example, if prohibited chemical pesticides or pollen fromforbidden genetically engineered plants wafts onto and contaminates an organic field, guess what? The farmer gets a mulligan: He does not lose his organic certification.
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Claims For Organic Agriculture Need More Sunlight, Less Shade
IMAGE:Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other original content,... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 6, 2015-The shocking statistic that about one in five women will be the victim of sexual assault while in college is made even more so by the fact that most of those women will know their assailants. No one-size-fits-all approach to rape prevention will be effective, as some offenders are driven by hostility toward women, while others may objectify women and view forceful intercourse as part of expected male dominant behavior. These different motivations and views on rape, and how they can be used to deliver rape prevention measures and successful intervention strategies are explored in an article in Violence and Gender, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Violence and Gender website until February 6, 2015.
In the article "Denying Rape but Endorsing Forceful Intercourse: Exploring Differences Among Responders," Sara Edwards, PhD, and Kathryn Bradshaw, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, and Verlin Hinsz, PhD, North Dakota State University, Fargo, separated male participants into three groups based on how they scored on measurements of hypermasculinity, hostility toward women, and callous sexual attitudes. The authors reported associations between these groupings and whether the men denied any intention to rape or use force to obtain intercourse, self-reported intentions to rape, or indicated a distinction between sexually coercive behavior and rape and expressed intentions to use of force to obtain intercourse but denied rape.
"These authors describe the numbers as staggering, and we know it is one of the most concerning crimes in the country today," says Violence and Gender Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.). "Sexual assault on college campuses is the pink elephant in the room. It is a crime that is underreported and misunderstood. In this article, researchers look at how callous sexual attitudes of some males who do not have feelings of hostility toward women can still engage in forced intercourse with a victim, and consider their behavior as an achievement rather than rape. The implications for these findings are extremely significant for education programs about sexual aggression and rape prevention and the development of a more accurate identification of subtypes of offenders based on their motivation, cognition, and personality traits."
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About the Journal
Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other original content, the Journal critically examines biological, genetic, behavioral, psychological, racial, ethnic, and cultural factors as they relate to the gender of perpetrators of violence. Led by Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.), Violence and Gender explores the difficult issues that are vital to threat assessment and prevention of the epidemic of violence. Violence and Gender is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, and is the official journal of The Avielle Foundation. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Violence and Gender website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
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What motivates males who commit sexual assault on campus?
IMAGE:AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, published monthly in print and online, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 6, 2015--Timothy Ray Brown, long known only as the "Berlin Patient" had HIV for 12 years before he became the first person in the world to be cured of the infection following a stem cell transplant in 2007. He recalls his many years of illness, a series of difficult decisions, and his long road to recovery in the first-person account, "I Am the Berlin Patient: A Personal Reflection," published in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is part of a special issue on HIV Cure Research and is available free on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.
Brown's Commentary describes the bold experiment of using a stem cell donor who was naturally resistant to HIV infection to treat the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosed 10 years after he became HIV-positive. The stem cell donor had a specific genetic mutation called CCR5 Delta 32 that can protect a person against HIV infection. The virus is not able to enter its target, the CD4 cells. After the stem cell transplant, Brown was able to stop all antiretroviral treatment and the HIV has not returned.
"This is the first time that we get to read this important story written by the man who lived it," says Thomas Hope, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. "It is a unique opportunity to share in the human side of this transformative experience."
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About the Journal
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, published monthly in print and online, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV and SIV and innovative approaches to HIV vaccine and therapeutic drug research, including the development of antiretroviral agents and immune-restorative therapies. The content also explores the molecular and cellular basis of HIV pathogenesis and HIV/HTLV epidemiology. The Journal features rapid publication of emerging sequence information and reports on clinical trials of emerging HIV therapies. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers/ is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including AIDS Patient Care and STDs, Viral Immunology, and Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
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The 'Berlin patient,' first and only person cured of HIV, speaks out
IMAGE:AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, published monthly in print and online, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV... view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, January 6, 2015--Timothy Ray Brown, long known only as the "Berlin Patient" had HIV for 12 years before he became the first person in the world to be cured of the infection following a stem cell transplant in 2007. He recalls his many years of illness, a series of difficult decisions, and his long road to recovery in the first-person account, "I Am the Berlin Patient: A Personal Reflection," published in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is part of a special issue on HIV Cure Research and is available free on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.
Brown's Commentary describes the bold experiment of using a stem cell donor who was naturally resistant to HIV infection to treat the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosed 10 years after he became HIV-positive. The stem cell donor had a specific genetic mutation called CCR5 Delta 32 that can protect a person against HIV infection. The virus is not able to enter its target, the CD4 cells. After the stem cell transplant, Brown was able to stop all antiretroviral treatment and the HIV has not returned.
"This is the first time that we get to read this important story written by the man who lived it," says Thomas Hope, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. "It is a unique opportunity to share in the human side of this transformative experience."
###
About the Journal
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, published monthly in print and online, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV and SIV and innovative approaches to HIV vaccine and therapeutic drug research, including the development of antiretroviral agents and immune-restorative therapies. The content also explores the molecular and cellular basis of HIV pathogenesis and HIV/HTLV epidemiology. The Journal features rapid publication of emerging sequence information and reports on clinical trials of emerging HIV therapies. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers/ is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including AIDS Patient Care and STDs, Viral Immunology, and Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
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The 'Berlin patient,' first and only person cured of HIV, speaks out
Its first attempt to develop genetically engineered grass ended disastrously for Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. The grass escaped into the wild from test plots in Oregon in 2003, dooming the chances that the government would approve the product for commercial use.
Yet Scotts is once again developing genetically modified grass that would need less mowing, be a deeper green and be resistant to damage from the popular weedkiller Roundup. But this time the grass will not need federal approval before it can be field-tested and marketed.
Scotts and several other companies are developing genetically modified crops using techniques that either are outside the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Department or use new methods like genome editing that were not envisioned when the regulations were created.
The department has said, for example, that it has no authority over a new herbicide-resistant canola, or over a corn that would create less pollution from livestock waste, or switch grass tailored for biofuel production, or an ornamental plant that glows in the dark.
The trend alarms critics of biotech crops, who say there can be unintended effects of genetic modification, regardless of the process.
"They are using a technical loophole so that what are clearly genetically engineered crops and organisms are escaping regulation," said Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union. He said the grass "can have all sorts of ecological impact, and no one is required to look at it."
'Obsolete' regulation
Even some people who say the crops are safe and the regulations overly burdensome have expressed concern that because some crops can be left unregulated, the whole oversight process is confusing and illogical, in some cases doing more harm than good.
In November's Nature Biotechnology, plant researchers at the University of California, Davis wrote that the regulatory framework had become "obsolete and an obstacle to the development of new agricultural products."
But companies using the new techniques say that if the methods were not labeled genetic engineering, novel crops could be marketed or grown in Europe and other countries that do not readily accept genetically modified crops.
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Genetic Engineering+long one lives;Donna Douglas
What agency has power to control when one born+dies? As in Donna Douglas, She plays Ellie Mae ClampettBeverly Hillbillies.
By: Peggy Ann Childers
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Genetic Engineering+long one lives;Donna Douglas - Video