Salmon Genetic Engineering
Derp.

By: Brandon Dodd

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Salmon Genetic Engineering - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

7-Oct-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, October 7, 2014Low sexual desire is common among both pre- and post-menopausal women. It can cause personal distress, harm relationships, and have a negative impact on body image and self confidence. Yet few women seek medical care for this condition, and the reasons are explored in a timely article 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 at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jwh.2014.4743 until November 7, 2014.

In the article "Attitudinal Survey of Women Living with Low Sexual Desire," Sheryl A. Kingsberg, PhD, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (Cleveland, OH), presents the results of a survey of women's attitudes toward low sexual desire and their awareness of its treatability as a medical condition. Dr. Kingsberg found that more than one-quarter of premenopausal and one-third of post-menopausal women were very dissatisfied with their current level of sexual desire. Most had not discussed their low sexual desire with their health care providers because they felt uncomfortable or embarrassed or were not aware that it is a treatable condition.

"Given the prevalence of low sexual desire in women and the important role that sexual function plays in women's lives, healthcare providers should recognize female sexual function as an integral part of health and well-being," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, 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 at http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh. 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 Society

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Why do women struggling with low sexual desire not seek treatment?

GenapSys has appointed Mark Pratt as vice president of product development. Most recently, Pratt was senior director of accuracy R&D at Personalis. Before that, he served at Illumina, where he was responsible for engineering research, including holding leadership positions in the development of the HiSeq and MiSeq systems.

The Personalized Medicine Coalition announced that Daryl Pritchard will be its new VP of science policy, in charge of promoting the organization's science-related policies and of raising awareness of precision healthcare issues among policymakers, providers, and patients. Before joining PMC, Pritchard was director of policy research at the National Pharmaceutical Council; director of research programs advocacy and personalized medicine at the Biotechnology Industry Organization; and the director of government affairs for the American Association for Dental Research.

Nabsys has appointed Steve Lombardi to president, CEO, and to its board of directors. Previously, he was CEO of Real Time Genomics, and before that he was CEO of Helicos BioSciences. He has also served as senior vice president of Affymetrix and vice president of genetic analysis at Applied Biosystems.

Roche said this week that Arthur Levinson has resigned from its board of directors, effective immediately. The drugmaker said Levinson, who was chairman and CEO at Genentech from 1999 to 2014, made the decision to avoid any conflict with his post as CEO at Calico, a Google-backed startup. Levinson has served on Roche's board since 2010.

Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute said this week it has named Perry Nisen as its CEO and as holder of the Donald Bren Chief Executive Chair. Nisen joins Sanford Burnham from GlaxoSmithKline, where he was senior VP of science and innovation.

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Genetic Technologies Reports 'Consistent' Q1 BREVAGen Volume, Launches Second Generation Dx

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-Oct-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, October 6, 2014While poker is a game of chance, there is skill and decision-making involved, and the quality of those decisions depends on both knowledge of the game and the ability to control one's emotions. The results of a new study that evaluates emotionality, experience level, and success among online poker players are presented in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website until November 6, 2014.

In the article "Experienced Poker Players are Emotionally Stable," Michael Laakasuo, Jussi Palomki, and Mikko Salmela, University of Helsinki, Finland, propose that emotional stability is both a predictive and enabling factor for becoming an experienced and successful poker player. The authors' assessments of emotionality also led to the conclusion that poker players who prefer live play rather than online games are more likely to be extroverted and open to experiences.

"Previous studies have shown that online poker players tend to be introverted individuals and that those who perform better at poker are less neurotic," says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California. "This study, however, takes research a step further by comparing online and offline players."

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About the Journal

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies, plus cybertherapy and rehabilitation. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

About the Publisher

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Does emotional stability affect the success of online poker players?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-Oct-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, October 6, 2014Self-management of diabetes, including medication, nutrition, and lifestyle strategies, is essential for optimal glycemic control and minimizing complications of the disease. Education to teach and improve self-management skills is critical for success and, when delivered via the Internet, can lead to better glycemic control and enhanced diabetes knowledge compared to usual care, according to a Review article in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the DTT website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/dia.2014.0155 until November 6, 2014.

Katherine Pereira, DNP, Beth Phillips, MSN, Constance Johnson, PhD, and Allison Vorderstrasse DNSc, Duke University School of Nursing (Durham, NC), review various methods of delivering diabetes education via the Internet and compare their effectiveness in improving diabetes-related outcomes. In the article "Internet Delivered Diabetes Self-Management Education: A Review" the authors describe some of the benefits of this method of educating patients, including ease of access and the ability to self-pace through the materials.

"With the increasing prevalence of diabetes globally and a decreasing number of available healthcare providers, alternative approaches and better education in self-management are necessary to improve diabetes outcomes," says DTT Editor-in-Chief Satish Garg, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver. "This study evaluates the role of Internet-based self-management in diabetes-related outcomes."

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About the Journal

Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) is a monthly peer-reviewed journal that covers new technology and new products for the treatment, monitoring, diagnosis, and prevention of diabetes and its complications. Led by Editor-in-Chief Satish Garg, MD, the Journal covers topics that include noninvasive glucose monitoring, implantable continuous glucose sensors, novel routes of insulin administration, genetic engineering, the artificial pancreas, measures of long-term control, computer applications for case management, telemedicine, the Internet, and new medications. Tables of contents and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) website at http://www.liebertpub.com/DTT. DTT is the official journal of the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) Conference.

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Is internet-based diabetes self-management education beneficial?

GenapSys has appointed Mark Pratt as vice president of product development. Most recently, Pratt was senior director of accuracy R&D at Personalis. Before that, he served at Illumina, where he was responsible for engineering research, including holding leadership positions in the development of the HiSeq and MiSeq systems.

The Personalized Medicine Coalition announced that Daryl Pritchard will be its new VP of science policy, in charge of promoting the organization's science-related policies and of raising awareness of precision healthcare issues among policymakers, providers, and patients. Before joining PMC, Pritchard was director of policy research at the National Pharmaceutical Council; director of research programs advocacy and personalized medicine at the Biotechnology Industry Organization; and the director of government affairs for the American Association for Dental Research.

Nabsys has appointed Steve Lombardi to president, CEO, and to its board of directors. Previously, he was CEO of Real Time Genomics, and before that he was CEO of Helicos BioSciences. He has also served as senior vice president of Affymetrix and vice president of genetic analysis at Applied Biosystems.

Roche said this week that Arthur Levinson has resigned from its board of directors, effective immediately. The drugmaker said Levinson, who was chairman and CEO at Genentech from 1999 to 2014, made the decision to avoid any conflict with his post as CEO at Calico, a Google-backed startup. Levinson has served on Roche's board since 2010.

Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute said this week it has named Perry Nisen as its CEO and as holder of the Donald Bren Chief Executive Chair. Nisen joins Sanford Burnham from GlaxoSmithKline, where he was senior VP of science and innovation.

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Genetic Technologies Reports 'Consistent' Q1 BREVAGen Volume, Launches Second Generation Dx

In a letter seen by the Sunday Times to the Commons science and technology committee, which is holding a one-day inquiry into three parent embryos on October 22, a group of scientists said: "The safety of mitochondrial replacement therapy is not yet established sufficiently well to proceed to clinical trials."

However, an editorial in New Scientist said mitochondria "play a key role in some of the most important features of human life. This raises the ethically troubling prospect ... that children conceived in this way will inherit vital traits from three parents."

Stuart Newman, a cell biologist and professor at New York Medical College, will submit his objections this week and said the importance of the outer part of the egg, donated by the second woman, was being played down.

"The mitochondria are ... participants in the development of the organism. This clearly makes any person [brought into being from the procedure] a product of wholesale genetic engineering," he said.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which backs mitochondrial replacement, said it could "see no reason for changing its in-depth and considered views on this matter".

Continued here:
Three-parent babies are 'genetic engineering' and be banned

In a letter seen by the Sunday Times to the Commons science and technology committee, which is holding a one-day inquiry into three parent embryos on October 22, a group of scientists said: "The safety of mitochondrial replacement therapy is not yet established sufficiently well to proceed to clinical trials."

However, an editorial in New Scientist said mitochondria "play a key role in some of the most important features of human life. This raises the ethically troubling prospect ... that children conceived in this way will inherit vital traits from three parents."

Stuart Newman, a cell biologist and professor at New York Medical College, will submit his objections this week and said the importance of the outer part of the egg, donated by the second woman, was being played down.

"The mitochondria are ... participants in the development of the organism. This clearly makes any person [brought into being from the procedure] a product of wholesale genetic engineering," he said.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which backs mitochondrial replacement, said it could "see no reason for changing its in-depth and considered views on this matter".

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Three-parent babies are 'genetic engineering' and be banned

There is Plastic in Our Vegetation
There is plastic in our vegetation. Plants here and around the world are suffering in pain due to genetic engineering. We must stop the manipulation of God #39;s creation now. This world is...

By: Rose Mela

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There is Plastic in Our Vegetation - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

2-Oct-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, October 2, 2014Women who have a history of violent sexual abuse may suffer emotional distress during a routine pelvic examination. Healthcare providers would benefit from greater awareness of symptoms predictive of examination-related distress in this patient population, according to a study published in Violence and Gender, a new peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Violence and Gender website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/vio.2014.0016 until November 2, 2014.

In the article "A New Perspective on Distress During the Pelvic Examination: The Role of Traumatic Hyperarousal in Women with Histories of Sexual Violence", coauthors Christina Khan, MD, PhD, Carolyn Greene, PhD, Jennifer Strauss, PhD, David Spiegel, MD, and Julie Weitlauf, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, and Stanford Cancer Institute (Palo Alto, CA), and Duke University School of Medicine (Durham, NC), identified physiologic symptoms of trauma (hyperarousal and hypervigilance) that were associated with distress among a group of female veterans with a history of sexual violence who underwent routine pelvic examination.

"This unique article provides us with a research-based perspective of the association between sexual violence and reactivity to the pelvic examination," says Violence and Gender Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.). "These early findings indicate that the physiologic symptoms of PTSD brought on by the assault may be associated with a greater likelihood of marked distress during the exam. This finding may be particularly meaningful to medical professionals to help them better understand the extent and long-term effects of sexual victimization, and the need for ongoing sensitivity for these patients."

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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 at http://www.liebertpub.com/vio.

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Link between past sexual violence and distress on pelvic exam

Fairfax NZ

PROTEST: Luthar Donselaar, 6, at a New Plymouth march against the use of genetically modified organisms in New Zealand food.

A visit to an experimental farm run by the Monsanto Corporation and others in the Mississippi delta has changed the way Southland Federated Farmers' president Russell MacPherson views genetic modification (GM).

MacPherson admits he left New Zealand thinking genetic modification of crops was not important to New Zealand farmers, but after seeing several effective applications of the technology in the Mississippi River delta, he believes farmers here should at least debate the potential benefits of the technology.

"I think it's important that New Zealanders don't just put genetic engineering on the shelf because we're not interested," he said. "Let's not become an agricultural museum.

"There are some aspects of genetic engineering that could actually help resolve some environmental problems in New Zealand."

The Mississippi River is renowned for its heavy sediment loading from intensive farming of its flood plains, concisely captured in the famous adage: "Too thick to drink and too thin to plough."

During a recent farming study tour of the United States with 25 Southland farmers, MacPherson visited a corn farm in the Mississippi River delta which is regularly flooded and fertilised by silt from the river.

He said soil loss was a major concern for growers on commercial scale farms, who had slowed sediment losses from 36 kilograms an acre to 9kg an acre through a policy of no tillage cultivation.

Genetically modified herbicide tolerant corn seeds are direct drilled into the previous season's slash and when weeds emerge they are sprayed with a herbicide to reduce competition.

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Farmer calls for debate on GM potential

Dawkins And Krauss Q A The Unbelievers Hot Docs Toronto 2013
Lawrence Krauss and Richard Dawkins talk about their religious friends, abiogenesis, sexual selection, genetic engineering, and eugenics after the premiere of The Unbelievers in Toronto.

By: Daniel Torres

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Dawkins And Krauss Q&A The Unbelievers Hot Docs Toronto 2013 - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Oct-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, October 1, 2014The cause of fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome is not known. However, the results of a new study that compares brain activity in individuals with and without fibromyalgia indicate that decreased connectivity between pain-related and sensorimotor brain areas could contribute to deficient pain regulation in fibromyalgia, according to an article published in Brain Connectivity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Brain Connectivity website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/brain.2014.0274 until November 1, 2014.

The new study by Pr Flodin and coauthors from Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) builds on previous findings in fibromyalgia that showed abnormal neuronal activity in the brain associated with poor pain inhibition. In the current study, "Fibromyalgia is Associated with Decreased Connectivity between Pain- and Sensorimotor Brain Areas", the researchers report a pattern of "functional decoupling" between pain-related areas of the brain that process pain signals and other areas of the brain, such as those that control sensorimotor activity in fibromyalgia patients compared to healthy patients, in the absence of any external pain stimulus. As a result, normal pain perception may be impaired.

"Fibromyalgia is an understudied condition with an unknown cause that can only be diagnosed by its symptoms," says Christopher Pawela, PhD, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Brain Connectivity and Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin. "This study by Flodin et al is an important first step in the understanding of how the brain is involved in the widespread pain perception that is characteristic of the disorder."

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About the Journal

Brain Connectivity is the essential peer-reviewed journal covering groundbreaking findings in the rapidly advancing field of connectivity research at the systems and network levels. Published 10 times per year in print and online, 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.

About the Publisher

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Fibromyalgia and the role of brain connectivity in pain inhibition

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Oct-2014

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

IMAGE: Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD , Chairman,...

New Rochelle, NY, October 1, 2014Regulation of the human immune system's response to infection involves an elaborate network of complex signaling pathways that turn on and off multiple genes. The emerging importance of long noncoding RNAs and their ability to promote, fine-tune, and restrain the body's inflammatory response by regulating gene expression is described in a Review article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the JICR website.

In the Review article "Transcription of Inflammatory Genes; Long Non-Coding RNA and Beyond," Susan Carpenter and Katherine Fitzgerald, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, and University of California, San Francisco, CA, provide a detailed overview of the multi-layered gene regulation systems that are activated when the immune system recognizes a pathogen or other external danger signal. The growing understanding of the role that long noncoding RNAs play in regulating this complex circuitry could lead to their use as drug targets for developing selective antimicrobial therapeutics that do not cause damaging inflammation.

"This is a cutting-edge review from authors who are conducting pioneering research on the role of long non-coding RNAs in innate immune signaling," says Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research Co-Editor-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio.

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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, Ohio, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio, 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. JICR is the official journal of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research website.

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A new target for controlling inflammation? Long non-coding RNAs fine-tune the immune system

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-Sep-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, September 30, 2014Levothyroxine (L-T4), long the standard of care for treating hypothyroidism, is effective in most patients, but some individuals do not regain optimal health on L-T4 monotherapy. New knowledge about thyroid physiology may help to explain these differences. An expert task force of the American Thyroid Association on thyroid hormone replacement reviewed the latest studies on L-T4 therapy and on alternative treatments to determine whether a change to the current standard of care is appropriate, and they present their recommendations in the article "Guidelines for the Treatment of Hypothyroidism," published in Thyroid, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers and the official journal of the American Thyroid Association (ATA). The Guidelines are available free on the Thyroid website.

Task force co-chairs J. Jonklaas and A.C. Bianco, with colleagues from the Clinical and Translational Science sub-committees, coauthored the Guidelines on behalf of the American Thyroid Association Task Force on Thyroid Hormone Replacement. The authors reviewed the clinical literature related to three main therapeutic categories: levothyroxine therapy; non-levothyroxine-based thyroid hormone therapies (including thyroid extracts, synthetic combination therapy, triiodothyronine therapy, and compounded thyroid hormones); and use of thyroid hormone analogues.

The task force concluded that levothyroxine should remain the standard of care for treating hypothyroidism, noting that no consistently strong evidence supports the superiority of alternative therapies. They emphasize that the recommendations are intended to guide physicians' clinical decision-making on thyroid hormone replacement therapy for individual patients.

"These very comprehensive guidelines provide a superb overview on the current evidence about treatment modalities for patients with hypothyroidism," says Peter A. Kopp, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Thyroid and Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. "In addition, the document highlights gaps in our knowledge and indicates which topics are in need of future research, for example the need for long-term outcome clinical trials testing combination therapies and continuing research on thyroid hormone analogs."

"These ATA guidelines, developed by an expert team, provide useful, up-to-date information on why to treat, including subclinical disease, who to treat, and how to treat hypothyroidism. Information is evidence-based and recommendations are graded. I think they will be used extensively by all clinical endocrinologists, especially by our members," says Hossein Gharib, MD, President of the ATA, Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota.

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New hypothyroidism treatment guidelines from American Thyroid Association

Farewell - Batch of 2015, Dept of Genetic Engineering,SRM University
Department of Genetic Engineering,SRM University http://www.srmgenetics.info Concept By - Rex Arunraj Rendition by - Ramanathan Yegappan.

By: Ramanathan Yegappan

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Farewell - Batch of 2015, Dept of Genetic Engineering,SRM University - Video

Farmer Paul Schlagel tills acres of sugar beets in Longmont last week. Schlagel uses GMOs and is against the labeling measure. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)

With the Nov. 4 ballot measure, Colorado is at the forefront of a fierce food fight raging across the nation: whether or not to label foods made with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, so consumers can easily see if the food they buy is a product of genetic engineering.

Similar ballot initiatives failed in California and Washington in the past two years.

This spring, Vermont became the first state to approve GMO labeling. But then a group of national organizations led by the Grocery Manufacturers Association filed a lawsuit in federal court that challenges the new law. This could be the first of many lawsuits to block mandatory GMO labeling, experts say, and now Colorado jumps into the high-stakes debate.

"It will be a hot issue for quite a while in this state," said Katie Abrams, an assistant professor at Colorado State University who researches consumer understanding of food labels. "And it's going on in more places than just Colorado."

GMO labeling will also be on the ballot in Oregon, and this year about 35 similar bills were introduced in 20 states.

If the measure passes in Colorado, by 2016 packaged or raw foods made with GMOs that are sold in retail outlets must be labeled with the phrase "produced with genetic engineering." Exemptions include processed food intended for immediate human consumption, like at restaurants and delis.

Most processed food sold in America today, from beverages to baby food, include GMO ingredients such as corn syrup, corn oil, soy meal and sugar.

More than 90 percent of Americans believe the federal government should require GMO labels, according to an ABC News poll.

Chef/owner Bradford Heap tastes a dish at Salt Bistro in Boulder. Heap has eliminated GMO foods at his two restaurants. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

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GMO labeling measure in Colorado triggers heated debate

Genetic engineering in plants
This plant genetic engineering lecture explains different process and techniques used in plant biotechnology in overview session. For more information, log o...

By: Suman Bhattacharjee

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Genetic engineering in plants - Video

Even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on his US visit, the Sangh Parivar has come out with its demands. Vijnana Bharati, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-inspired organisation working in the field of science, told Modi, through an open letter, not to invite any sort of investments in the field of genetic engineering technologies to produce seeds in India.

"Indian farmers and scientific community are engaged in a relentless war against the field trials announced by the Union government and the introduction of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) without adequate research," said A Jayakumar, secretary-general, Vijnana Bharati.

According to Jayakumar, the PM had already mentioned he would seek investments in the biotechnology sector during his US visit.

"While investments in other fields of biotechnology might be desirable, investments in genetic engineering for producing seeds should be strictly avoided due to certain critical factors. Most importantly, genetic engineering technologies go hand-in-hand with royalties. The monopoly of Monsanto in Maharashtra has led to serious debts incurred by farmers resulting in large-scale suicides," the open letter said.

The letter noted the experience in the US, where herbicide-resistant GMO seeds have led to the emergence of super weeds, which are uncontrollable.

"As the Technical Expert Committee appointed by the Supreme Court has rightly recommended, there is no place for herbicide-tolerant GMO crops in small farms of India. Besides, organic, agro-ecological systems are proven over the tides of time to be the best path to food security," it said.

Sangh Parivar organisations such as Swadeshi Jagaran Manch and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh had been instrumental in the government holding back its decision on allowing field trials for GM crops. There is a feeling within the Parivar that the government is under pressure from US seed companies to introduce GM crops in India.

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RSS wing against investments from genetic engineering firms

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

25-Sep-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, September 25, 2014The staggering growth rate of the global population demands innovative and sustainable solutions to increase food production by as much as 70-100% in the next few decades. In light of environmental changes, more drought-tolerant food crops are essential. The latest technological advances and future directions in regulating genes involved in stress tolerance in crops is presented in a Review article in OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology, the peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the OMICS website.

Coauthors Roel Rabara and Paul Rushton, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Dallas, TX, and Prateek Tripathi, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, focus on the role of transcription factors, described as "master regulators" because they are important components of many genetic regulatory pathways and may be able to control clusters of genes. Drought tolerance is a complex trait that is regulated by multiple genes.

In the article "The Potential of Transcription Factor-Based Genetic Engineering in Improving Crop Tolerance to Drought," the authors describe current strategies for using transcription factors to improve drought tolerance and discuss how novel, advanced technologies will help study promising, genetically engineered food crops under field growing conditions.

"With limited water supply continuing to constrain food crop production, understanding and improving crop tolerance to drought is a grand challenge for 21st century biology and medicine, and to feed a massive world population," says OMICS Editor-in-Chief Vural zdemir, MD, PhD, DABCP, Gaziantep University, Faculty of Communications and Office of the President, Gaziantep, Turkey, and Co-Founder, the Data-Enabled Life Sciences Alliance International (DELSA Global), Seattle, WA. "Transcription factors are veritable candidates for innovation in the next generation of transgenic crops because of their natural role in plant growth and development. Field studies (not only greenhouse measures) will provide additional insights to measure their actual impact and innovation. This state of the art review article offers a timely analysis and topline summary distilled from the past several decades of leading literature."

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About the Journal

OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online, which covers genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and multi-omics innovations. The Journal explores advances in the era of post-genomic biology and medicine and focuses on the integration of OMICS, data analyses and modeling, and applications of high-throughput approaches to study biological problems. Social, ethical, and public policy aspects of the large-scale biology and 21st century data-enabled sciences are also considered. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the OMICS website.

Original post:
Can genetic engineering help food crops better tolerate drought?