05/November/21

 

Plans have been announced in Japan to begin marketing red sea bream genetically engineered with CRISPR/Cas. The gene-editing tool was used in the fish to block gene functions which regulate muscle growth. As a result, the fish not only grow more muscle, they also have a larger-sized body, reduced body length and abnormal positioning of the vertebrae. In comparison to the wild type, the fish gains weight faster and appears to move more slowly. No data were made available on the effects of the genetic alteration on life span or health in general. There also appears to be no data available on animal welfare. In addition, questions about changes in the composition of the edible parts of the GM fish and potential impact on consumers remain unanswered. Testbiotech

 

 

Being heavily exposed to bug and weedkillers might render you prone to sleep disorders. According to studies published over the past decade, pesticides appear to be significant risk factors for conditions that prevent people from sleeping well regularly. Among those found to be linked with sleep disorders are pesticides specifically intended for use with herbicide-tolerant GM crops – glyphosate, dicamba, 2,4-D, and glufosinate ammonium – as well as paraquat, which is often used to control glyphosate-resistant weeds. GMWatch

 

 

The National Institutes of Heath allowed a US nonprofit it funds to police its own controversial research on bat coronaviruses in China, raising new concerns about insufficient oversight at the agency. Notes on NIH communications show that beginning in May 2016, agency staff had an unusual exchange with Peter Daszak, the head of EcoHealth Alliance, about experiments his group was planning to conduct on coronaviruses under an NIH grant. With the apparent aim of enabling the experiments to continue unaffected by a funding moratorium on gain-of-function research, agency staff adopted language that EcoHealth Alliance crafted to govern its own work. “It’s absolutely outrageous,” said Simon Wain-Hobson, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. “The NIH is bending over backward to help people it’s funded. It isn’t clear that the NIH is protecting the US taxpayer.” The Intercept

 

 

The COVID crisis, endocrine disrupting substances, GMOs, climate change: all the major challenges of today raise the question of causes. This question is at the core of scientific investigations and of public policy. But on closer inspection, there are widely differing views of what causes what. At a two-day public conference organised by the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) and other groups, titled "Context, Causality and Consequences", eight scientists will share their views with the audience. One of the speakers is Denis Noble, author of Dance to the Tune of Life: Biological Relativity and other books revolutionising our view of organisms and genomes. Plenty of time will be allotted to questions and discussion with the audience. The conference will be held in person and online. Register now! ENSSER