Daily Archives: January 1, 2021

From the Ag Information Network, Im Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.

**Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a significant step in modernizing regulations of agricultural animals modified or produced by genetic engineering.

agwired.com reports, the USDA will move forward with an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit public input on a regulatory framework that would update our system into a scientifically-sound, risk-based, and predictable process that facilitates the development and use of these technologies for farmers and ranchers.

http://agwired.com/

**The end-of-year spending package passed by both Chambers of Congress last week included ground-breaking provisions

U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse, a Washington state Republican, introduced to maintain and update critical Bureau of Reclamation water supply infrastructure projects across the rural West.

The provisions establish a first-of-its-kind Aging

Infrastructure Account to provide stability and flexibility for local water managers who maintain and operate BOR water infrastructure.

**A near-double digit gain in potato retail sales wasnt enough to offset a decline in foodservice sales during the 2019-20 marketing year.

Showing a 5% decline in the use of ALL potatoes, the domestic sales and U.S. potato report for July 2019 to June 2020 was released by Potatoes USA in December.

The report, according to thepacker.com, says despite the 9% increase in retail sales, the decline occurred due to the 13% decrease in foodservice sales and 2% decrease in exports.

https://www.thepacker.com/news/produce-crops/potato-utilization-dips-5-2019-20-marketing-year?mkt/

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Modernizing Genetic Engineering and BOR Provisions Passed - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST - AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased threats to food security around the world, underscoring the need for innovation to make agriculture and aquaculture more resilient and efficient. Fortunately, the biological innovations needed to do just that are quickly becoming competitive and scalable.

SAN FRANCISCO In November, the United Nations World Food Program and the International Organization for Migration warned of the unprecedented threat to food security brought about by COVID-19. The pandemics collateral damage could turn out to be even worse than the disease itself.

Most leading international institutions with an interest in food security have now called for action to prevent future outbreaks of infectious disease, and to make food systems more resistant to shocks. Biological innovation must factor into our thinking as we strive to meet the dual challenge of feeding a growing population and managing natural resources sustainably.

Even before the pandemic, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) warned that more than 820 million people did not have enough to eat. With the global population expected to grow by roughly two billion people by 2050, improving access to affordable and healthy food will be critical in reducing malnutrition and the associated health-care costs.

Innovation in farming and food production is as old as agriculture itself, yet it is sorely needed today. Recent research by the McKinsey Global Institute finds that biological innovation in agriculture, aquaculture, and food production could yield economic returns of up to $1.2 trillion over the next decade or two. To put that into context, the global food and agribusiness industry is worth about $5 trillion today.

What could deliver this growth? The most promising innovations include alternative proteins, marker-assisted breeding, genetic engineering of plant and animal traits, and microbiome mapping and modification. Consumer interest in alternative protein sources is increasing globally, owing to concerns about health, the environment, and animal welfare.

Plant-based meat substitutes are already widely sold, though the economics of their production needs to be improved. Plant-based milk, for example, accounts for 15% of retail milk sales in the United States and 8% in Britain. And companies like Clara Foods are using advanced yeast engineering and fermentation technologies to produce animal-free egg-white proteins.

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Likewise, cultured meat and seafood whereby muscle tissue grown from cells in the lab is made to mimic the protein profile of animal meat is on the horizon. Earlier this month, Singapore became the first government to approve the sale of lab-grown meat (cultured chicken created by the San Francisco-based company Eat Just). Over the next ten years, cultured meat and seafood could become cost competitive with conventional animal proteins.

Selective breeding of plants and animals is not new, but marker-assisted breeding has made the process cheaper and significantly faster, because it enables the selection of desirable traits even if the precise genes that generate them have not yet been identified or understood. The plunging cost of DNA sequencing means that thousands of potential markers can be detected simultaneously. Whereas developing new crop varieties previously could require 25 years, it now can be done in as few as seven. And because marker-assisted selection is not yet as prevalent in developing countries as it is in advanced economies, there are significant opportunities for growth.

Since the development of the first genetically engineered plant (tobacco) in the early 1980s, genetic engineering has become well established. But, again, the technology is still improving rapidly. New tools like CRISPR have made gene editing more precise, allowing for crops to be tailored much more effectively to local conditions such as temperature and soil type. CRISPR-edited produce could land on grocery store shelves in the US over the next ten years, starting with sweeter strawberries that have a longer shelf life.

Another promising area of innovation is portable DNA-sequencing devices, which could soon be used by farmers to diagnose plant diseases, possibly improving quality and yield while eliminating or reducing use of pesticides. Genetic editing to improve health and productivity in food animals such as dairy and beef cattle, swine, and poultry is still nascent, but interest in the field has soared since the 2019 outbreak of African swine fever.

Similarly, the mapping of the microbiome including bacteria, fungi, and viruses is helping researchers find ways to increase the resilience of crops, animals, and soil to drought and disease. Here, too, advances in computing and sequencing are accelerating the pace of discovery, such that the biotech company Novozymes is already offering genetically engineered microbes to use in place of yield- and quality-boosting chemicals.

Many of these biological innovations can help us address not only hunger but also resource depletion and broader climate risks. According to the FAO, raising livestock for meat, eggs, and milk generates14.5% of global greenhouse-gas emissions; and one-third of all cropland is used to produce animal feed. Agriculture is also the largest contributor to deforestation, occupying 43% of the worlds ice-free and desert-free land. The plant-based Impossible Burger embodies 89% fewer emissions than a traditional beef burger.

Climate change reinforces the need for biological innovations, such as crops that have been engineered to withstand severe weather, or to grow in new environments, including areas with extreme temperatures, high salinity, or frequent droughts.

Many innovations are already contributing to food security, and the full potential of affordable DNA sequencing and CRISPR technology will continue to be revealed over time. It will take longer for lab-grown meat to make inroads, but when it does, the impact is likely to be felt far and wide.

Regulation and public perceptions have long played a role both positive and negative in biological innovation. The first wave of commercially available genetically engineered products has not yet reached many countries, and 19 EU member states still support partial or full bans on their sale. In Africa, genetically modified food products are legal in only a tiny handful of countries.

Safety is clearly paramount. But if regulators and consumers concerns can be addressed, the bio-revolution could take us a long way toward tackling global challenges like food security and climate change.

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Long Live the Bio-Revolution by Michael Chui & Matthias Evers - Project Syndicate

Alzheimer's disease is the fourth largest killer of people worldwide, yet it doesn't have any approved medications that can treat or slow the progression of the disease.

It's estimated that 36 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's or related dementias and this commonality along with lack of cure is why so much funding goes into Alzheimer's research.

One new study might be making headway's in helping to develop new therapies to treat the disease. A team of researchers have found mutations in the gene CSF-1R, which has been linked to a rare form of dementia. Called Leukoencephalopathy, the novel finding might help researchers understand enough about the disease to develop thereapeutics for Alzheimer's.

The research was published in ERMBO Molecular Medicine.

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News reports that Colin Doherty, one of the researchers that participated in the study, said, "It is absolutely critical that we focus our research endeavors on identifying the underlying cause of neurodegenerative conditions. Studies like these will pave the way for better clinical management of our patients and hopefully new medicines to treat the condition.

One of the biggest co-effects of Alzheimers is the finding of variations in blood vessels in the brain. This finding is incredibly common, found in about 80 percent of patients with the disease, but the causes of this are largely not known.

The researchers noted that by focusing in on a very rare form of brain disease, they've been able to narrow down the specific gene mutation that causes the condition. Since the rare disease draws significant parallels in effects on patients to Alzheimer's, the team is hoping that the found gene mutation might draw parallels to Alzheimer's.

By finding the mutation, the team was able to tie to the loss in function of damaged blood vessels in the brain caused by the mutation to the development of dementia in patients.

The study was able to demonstrate the the mutation in CSF-1R caused a loss of signaling that disrupted the blood-brain barrier, inhibits the ability of macrophages, or cells involved in fighting bacteria, from avoiding certain plaques effectively.

RELATED: NEW RESEARCH LINKS CHRONIC GUM DISEASE WITH ALZHEIMER'S

The data from this research is directly informing the researchers other preclinical studies in Alzheimer's research. The findings also helped them learn more about a neurodegeneration mechanism that may lead to further discoveries in more common dementia patients.

You can read the rest of the study inERMBO Molecular Medicine.

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Gene Mutation Discovered that Could Help Create Alzheimer's Therapeutics - Interesting Engineering

In 2020, the year of the pandemic, some scientists became bona fide celebrities. Even researchers who didnt join regular press conferences had unprecedented influence over peoples lives. Its rare for science to dominate a year as much as it did over the past 12 months.

Chinas role was pivotal. It was where the first cases of COVID-19 were reported. It was also where, overcoming the early misinformation about the nature of the outbreak, Chinese scientists quicklysequencedthe virus and shared their findings with the world, allowing for vaccines to be developed at remarkable speed.

Besides those vaccines some developed by Chinese pharmaceutical companies, slated to be widely rolled out over the coming months 2021 has plenty more in store for scientific developments.

Sixth Tone spoke with several Chinese researchers to ask what they are working on and where their field is heading in 2021.

Space Ambitions

After several successful moon missions, 2021 will be the year when China starts building its own space station, dubbed Tiangong, or Sky Palace. For April, the China National Space Administration has scheduled to launch Tiangongs core unit. Before the end of 2022, two experiment units will follow and dock with the core.

With a wider field of view than the Hubble Space Telescope, a telescope aboard the space station launch date unclear promises to reveal parts of the universe previously unobserved, astronomer Chen Pengfei at Nanjing University tells Sixth Tone. The first manned mission to the space station is expected to take place in the next few years.

If everything goes as planned, Chinas first two satellites for observing the sun will also launch in 2021. One of them, dubbed CHASE, is operated by Chens team and will focus on detecting solar activities.

And around May, Chinas first Mars probe is slated to land on the red planet after a 10-month voyage.

Diving to Greater Depths

Closer to home but no less unknown is the deep ocean, much of which has yet to be surveyed, says Jiang Xuefeng, a chemist at East China Normal University in Shanghai. But deep ocean exploration is slated to be a scientific focus for China starting in 2021, according to a government development plan.

Despite the deep ocean being dark, cold, and almost devoid of oxygen, it is nevertheless home to an abundance of life. Scientists have discovered in the past decades that the chemicals these organisms produce for surviving such inhospitable conditions could cure some of the most detrimental human diseases, like cancer. Jiang expects more research into them will lead to breakthroughs in the field of medicine in the next few years.

In 2020, the submersible Fendouzhe, or Striver, became the first Chinese manned vessel to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot on earth. Its like a spacecraft, Jiang tells Sixth Tone. With that tool bringing us to the deep ocean, we can better study chemicals and reactions happening in the extreme environment.

Mapping Gut Microbiota

Other chemicals with big effects on human health are expected to be found inside our own bowels. Over the past two decades, scientists have unraveled how our intestines affect whole-body health, identifying some 50 human diseases that are influenced by gut microbiota the communities microorganisms form such as fatty-liver diseases and Alzheimers disease.

But exactly which bacteria are responsible for which diseases remains a black box, says Yuan Jing, a microbiota researcher at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics in Beijing. We can tell a patient has a different and imbalanced mix of microorganisms compared with healthy people, but which one or ones are the culprits remains unclear.

Yuan expects new information to come to light in 2021, as many researchers shift their focus to trace compounds released by gut microbiota directly impacting other organs, potentially in harmful ways.

Engineered Pigs

Other medical advances might come from a new research institute studying pigs, on track to finish construction in 2021. The lab, located in northern Chinas Hebei province, is called Tianpeng Project after a famous swine character from the centuries-old novel Journey to the West.

One goal of the project is to use genetic engineering to develop porcine models creating groups of pigs with particular features to be used in medical research. Compared with the classic rodent model, pigs are much more similar to humans and are thus better tools for replicating diseases such as cystic fibrosis, and facilitating drug discovery.

Moreover, with genetic engineering techniques such as CRISPR, scientists can make pigs immune to deadly diseases such as African swine fever and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, says Hu Xiaoxiang, a biotechnologist at China Agricultural University in Beijing.

The U.S. government just approved the first genetically engineered pigs for food in December, and Hu thinks gene technology in agriculture will be a future trend.

It is the most efficient way to resist a disease, better than any pills or vaccines, she tells Sixth Tone.

6G Looming

More is in store for our phones and other electronics. Even though 5G is still being rolled out, scientists are busy working on the next generation of mobile communication, 6G.

In 2021, it should become clearer what kinds of improvements might be included when the standard is decided years down the line. One possible candidate, engineer Sun Songlin at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications tells Sixth Tone, is technology that allows transmitting data in the very high, terahertz frequency range.

This should offer greater bandwidth and thus faster data transmission with even fewer delays than 5G. Several domestic institutions, including University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in the southwestern Sichuan province and Suns school, have ongoing projects to explore whether this solution can deliver in real life what it promises in theory.

The experiment data coming in 2021 is likely to determine whether terahertz will be included as part of the 6G standards, Sun says.

Advanced Wearable Devices

Other mobile technology might find its way onto peoples wrists this year. Zhang Wuxiong, an engineer at Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences hopes to see better sensors being developed in 2021. Blood pressure meters, for example, may soon be integrated into smart watches. The feature requires a leap in Chinas sensor development technology, Zhang tells Sixth Tone.

Over 95% of sensors in China are imported. It (sensor manufacturing) is the hardest nut to crack, Zhang says.

So far, many scientists have been experimenting with wearable sensors that can measure how light reflects differently when blood pressure changes. Zhang expects the accuracy to improve as scientists work out how to eliminate inference from factors such as skin color.

Tangible Carbon

One cutting-edge discovery that will become commonplace is graphene. The ultra-thin material made of pure carbon that won its inventors a Nobel Prize a decade ago will finally enter ordinary peoples lives in 2021, Yu Qingkai, a materials scientist at the Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, predicts.

When graphene was first discovered in the 2000s, scientists called it a wonder material because of its remarkable properties: transparent, a good conductor, and lighter than paper but hundreds of times stronger than steel. It has potential applications in almost every field, from making flexible electronics and building better water filters to facilitating biomedical research. However, its high price tag of up to several hundred dollars per gram has been a limiting factor, Yu tells Sixth Tone.

Recent advancements in graphene production have made larger-scale applications possible. Huawei, Chinas mobile device giant, started to use graphene for heat dissipation in its 5G cellphones in 2019.

Yu and his team are working on further improving the efficiency of graphene manufacturing. With greater yields, the price will drop to as low as a common raw chemical material, Yu says about their goal for 2021. Industries will enjoy it and use it for their products.

Sequencing Autism

Another field slated for breakthroughs is the origins of autism spectrum disorder. In 2021, researchers in Shanghai will build a database with the genetic sequencing information of 1,000 Chinese people with autism spectrum disorder and their parents. Genetic mutations have previously been found to be one cause of autism, and types of mutations are likely to vary across different races, says Qiu Zilong, neuroscientist at Shanghais Institute of Neuroscience under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

So we cant use data from, say, American research, to study cases among Chinese people, Qiu tells Sixth Tone. He expects the database, the first of its kind in China, will help reveal hundreds of genetic mutations associated with autism in the Chinese population.

(In-text images: People Visual)

(Header image:Shijue Select/People Visual)

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The Chinese Science Trends to Watch For in 2021 - Sixth Tone

CRISPR, a tool for editing the genetic code in living organisms, was first discovered in 2007. Since then, the prospect of eliminating diseases by editing the human genome has been hovering on the edge of science fiction and reality.

Until 2020.

Here are four incredible CRISPR breakthroughs that happened this year.

"When we think about how CRISPR will be applied in the future, that is really one of the most important bottlenecks to the field right now: delivery," Jennifer Doudna, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Emmanuelle Charpentier in October for creating CRISPR, told Genetic Engineering News.

Accessing DNA in living cells has been the biggest challenge for CRISPR. The most widely used CRISPR gene editing system uses a protein called Cas9, which is naturally found in bacteria and archaea. Their biological role is to fight off viruses by destroying the viruses' DNA and cutting it out of their genomes.

However, scientists can use them as "DNA scissors," which can be used to cut disease-causing mutations out of any DNA.

The trouble is Cas9, as well as other proteins used in different CRISPR systems, are all really bulky, which makes it difficult to access the smallest nooks and crannies of the human genome.

However, in July Doudna and her University of California Berkeley team announced that they found a new Cas protein.

Drumroll, please. Enter the tiny Cas (pronounced "Cas-phi").

At practically half the size, Cas can reach areas of the human genome that most CRISPR gene editing proteins cannot. This new protein could be a game-changer for genetic engineering.

This year researchers announced the results of an on-going clinical trial that tested CRISPR's ability to edit the DNA of living cells and possibly cure genetic diseases in humans.

The study focused on two of the most common genetic disorders globally sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. The only cure for these blood diseases is via a stem cell transplant from a viable donor. But often, the recipients have to take immunosuppressants for months or years, with difficult side effects.

The trials involved collecting blood stem cells from the patients. Then, researchers used CRISPR to alter the cells' genes, and finally transplanted the stem cells back into the patients. Several months later, when patients reported that their symptoms were gone, the scientific community hailed the study as a gene therapy breakthrough calling it a cure.

"I am encouraged by the preliminary results, which demonstrate, in essence, a functional cure for patients with beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease," researcher Haydar Frangoul said in a news release.

The next step is expanding the study by enrolling 45 patients and observing them long-term.

The U.S. doesn't have enough donor organs to fulfill every need. As a result, approximately 17 people die each day because they couldn't get the liver, heart, or lung they required.

To solve this shortage, scientists have been looking into cross-species donation or xenotransplantation for a decade, with little progress. Our immune system is designed to attack intruders, which is excellent when you have the flu, but it makes xenotransplantation practically impossible.

"The approach, if validated through further studies, could help solve global organ shortage (and) alleviate transplantation needs."

Now, thanks to CRISPR, xenotransplantation could be possible. Using CRISPR, researchers at Qihan Biotech modified the DNA of pigs to make them more compatible with humans. The researchers made 13 genetic modifications to the pigs, all in the hopes of making them more acceptable to the human body. In vitro lab tests showed promise cells from the gene-edited pigs appeared less likely to be rejected by the human immune system than those of unmodified animals.

"The approach, if validated through further studies, could help solve global organ shortage (and) alleviate transplantation needs," Qihan Biotech co-founder George Church said in a press release.

Further studies are underway: the team is now testing an organ transplant from a gene-edited pig into a primate.

Scientists at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland used CRISPR inside the human body for the first time in a patient that had an inherited form of blindness.

Doctors dropped the gene-editing tool behind the retina via three drops of liquid that passed through a tube the size of a human hair. Once in the body, CRISPR went to work. It snipped the mutated gene on both sides of the problem area. They hope that once the mutation was removed, the snipped DNA will reconnect itself, allowing the gene to function as it should. They are now in clinical trials.

"Once the cell is edited, it's permanent and that cell will persist hopefully for the life of the patient," because these cells don't divide, said one study leader not involved in this first case, Dr. Eric Pierce at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.

If all goes according to plan, the patient should regain their vision within a few months. Next, the doctors plan to further test the procedure on 18 children and adults.

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CRISPRs Big Year: Top Breakthroughs of 2020 - Freethink

Dublin, Dec. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Microbiome Therapeutics Market 2020: A Benchmark of the Top 10 Companies" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report profiles companies actively involved in developing microbiome therapeutics.

Microbiome present in the human body has a major role to play in the overall functioning of the human body. Human microbiota consists of a diverse population of bacterial, viral and eukaryotic communities and is present on skin, nasopharynx, oral cavity, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and female reproductive tract. The naturally occurring microbiota is actively involved in metabolic cycle and the performance of immune system.

Today, with deeper understanding of microbiome and its role in human health, we are able to utilize microbiome for developing therapeutics. Designing microbial therapeutics has been challenging, however with the help of genetic engineering tools manipulating these naturally occurring consortia of microbiome has gained momentum in the last five years.

Numerous studies are being conducted to gain deeper understanding of host-microbiome interaction for developing targeted therapeutics. A significant focus of human microbiome research has been studying the bacteria in the gut, which represent the largest community both in terms of abundance and diversity. Microbiome therapeutics companies are increasingly involved in developing therapies for dysbiosis, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, even neurological disorders as schizophrenia and autism.Key Topics Covered:

1. Strategic Imperative and Growth Environment

2. The Radar: Microbiome Therapeutics

3. Companies to Action

4. Strategic Insights

5. Next Steps: Leveraging The Radar to Empower Key Stakeholders

6. The Radar: Analytics

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gbn8m2

About ResearchAndMarkets.comResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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Top 10 Companies in the Global Microbiome Therapeutics Market - GlobeNewswire