Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

Recently, three top research institutions in New Zealand jointly announced a breakthrough in the research of human height increase genes, has been purified through genetic technology to a key key that can effectively promote the body to effectively increase height NA Complex Growth Factor.Before this, the scientific research on height increase was more on height increase surgery or nutrient supplementation. The emergence of NA Complex Growth Factor has officially brought height increase into the genetic era, and is expected to bring real hope to hundreds of millions of children worldwide who have dreams of height increase.

New Zealand is one of the developed countries with the most complete gene technology industry-academia-research chain in the world. It not only has the top three genetic research institutions in the world New Zealand Genetic Research Center, but also has a number of genome listed companies with global reputation.

Recently, the New Zealand Centre for Genetic Research announced that a group of three genetic institutions, namely the New Zealand Genetic Research Center, the Genetic Research Center at Auckland University of Technology and the EZZ Institute of Life Sciences, had made a major and substantial breakthrough in the field of genetics. The new ingredient NA Growth Factor jointly developed by the three parties is proven to be effective in activating several key height increase genes in the human body including DNAJC27, DNAJC27, LIN28B, LIN7C, etc., and is engaged in achieving targeted intervention to help adolescents with dwarfism and height stunting solve their height increase challenges.

The three research institutions involved in this study are the New Zealand version of the Genetic Dream Team.Among them, the New Zealand Genetic Research Center is a genetic research institution built with New Zealands national resources, which has the top three research strengths and huge genetic database resources in the world. Auckland University of Technology, on the other hand, is one of the top 5% engineering institutions in the world, with genetics and health as its ace major.

Among them, EZZ Institute of Life Sciencesis an industry-academia-research institute established by EZZ Life Sciences, a listed company on the Australian Main Board, with a long-term commitment to rapidly commercialize the latest cutting-edge technologies for the benefit of consumers.This institute is credited with being behind many of the new products that have set the world on fire in the areas of NAD+, HPV, and H. pylori. It is because of this background that the market generally predicts that commercial products of this technology will soon be available to consumers.

Previously, the market for height-enhancing products generally stopped at nutrient supplementation, but the invention of the NA Factor was not based on this.The underlying technology of the NA Complex Growth Factor is genetic engineering.Our research on the relationship between skeletal development and genes in adolescents has revealed that insufficient activation of growth genes in adolescents is the root cause of slow growth due to acquired factors. Instead, only a specific key needs to be entered to awaken these genes, thus promoting skeletal growth signals. Through backward research and development, we finally applied the targeted gene flashing technology to the field and realized the vitality flashing of height-increase genes.Dr. Fabrice Merien, an expert in the NA Factor Research Group, said.

In addition to the targeted flash technology, in terms of formulation, NA Complex Growth Factor also solves the drawbacks of traditional growth supplements that simply supplement the nutrients needed to grow taller and need to be taken with other nutrients to address the bodys healthy growth needs.A new customized compound formula is used, which can achieve the comprehensive effect of growing taller, supplementing nutrition and strengthening the body.

Media ContactCompany Name: American Star NewsContact Person: Media RelationsEmail: Send EmailCountry: United StatesWebsite: http://www.deiniolnews.com

Read the rest here:
New Zealand scientists discover DNA key to growing taller, may lead to genetic height increase - Digital Journal

UC Berkeley graduate student Justin Lee beat out nine other talented contestants at this years Grad Slam competition, taking home the top prize for his three-minute talk on how genetic engineering could be used to stop COVID from replicating inside the body.

The annual contest, now in its seventh year, challenges grad students to sum up their research in three pithy and jargon-free minutes that a non-research audience can understand.

Viewers who tuned into the livestreamed event on May 6 learned about a new way to dry food that cuts both food waste and carbon emissions; the health benefits of CBD; and how mutations in a single protein can influence circadian rhythms and health.

But it was Lees three-minute talk, on the development of an inhaled COVID treatment, that snagged the top prize: $7,000 in award money and the coveted systemwide trophy, or Slammy.

As is often the case with research itself, the inspiration for Lees winning talk came by accident. He had been practicing his pitch for months when a version of the talk got stuck in the copy machine.

Thats when the lightbulb went off: I realized that was just like my research, he said. I was talking about how we stop the virus from making copies of itself within the body.

Lee explained how the virus enters the body and hijacks our own machinery to replicate itself. He and his colleagues have identified the key code in the virus RNA that allows the copy machine to run.

Also taking home prizes for their outstanding talks were Amanda Quirk of UC Santa Cruz, who won second place for explaining her research into how galaxies collide; Rachel Sousa of UC Irvine, who snagged third place for her talk on how math can help us find a cure for cancer; and Wei Gordon of UCSF, who won the Peoples Choice award for a talk on mutations that help fruit-eating mammals metabolize sugar.

I was surprised about how much I learned and all of the research happening in topics Id never thought to venture into, said Grad Slam judge Jordan Felder, a UCLA-bound senior and student leader from San Franciscos Gateway High School. Together with the audience, who voted for the Peoples Choice winner, Felder was part of a distinguished panel of judges who rated the contestants on how well they engaged and enlightened observers.

The Grad Slam finale is the culmination of campus contests that took place across all 10 UC campuses in March and April, drawing hundreds of hopefuls in pursuit of prize money and glory. Contestants also get training on how to communicate the value of their research to the public.

Competitors often practice for months, training with fellow contestants and drawing on the goodwill of roommates, family and friends as they hone their talks to a fine point.

In breaking down my research, I really try to think about how I can relate it to common issues that people see and experience every day, Lee said. If you can build on that and relate it back to your research, you can build on your understanding from there.

As a metabolic biology Ph.D. student, he and others in his lab at UC Berkeley have isolated a molecule that could be inhaled through the nose to enter the lungs and disable the viruss replication system.

Early tests in mice have shown extraordinary results. The best part: because the molecule interferes with the way the virus replicates, it would be equally effective against any variant.

We still have a lot of research to do, Lee explained. The findings are still in peer review but could eventually be tested in clinical trials.

Can you imagine what a gamechanger it would be if we could fight this virus just by taking a breath? he asked the audience.

Second-place prize winner Amanda Quirk first fell in love with astronomy when she saw Saturn through a telescope on a fourth-grade field trip.

Today, she is doing her dissertation in astronomy and astrophysics, studying the dramatic lives of galaxies and what happens when they collide.

The thing about stars is, theyre gossips. They give away many of their secrets just through their light, Quirk said in her talk.

Her observations show that about four billion years ago, a short time in star terms, the Andromeda galaxy survived a collision with another star system. The observations she has documented change what we know about the kinds of mergers star systems can survive.

For Quirk, the challenge in mastering Grad Slam was figuring out how to explain far-out astronomy concepts in terms the average human could understand.

It doesnt matter how cool our research is if we cant tell people about it and how they can use it, Quirk said.

In science we tend to use a lot of fancy terms to communicate things, but I discovered that you can describe what you do without doing that. I learned that jargon just isnt that important.

When it came time for online voting for a favorite talk, the audience was drawn to Wei Gordons presentation and its promise of therapeutics that could counteract some of sugars harmful effects.

Im not saying Ive found a reason for us to eat as much cinnamon toast crunch as we like, but I may have found a reason life can be a little sweeter, Gordon said.

Her research looks into the gene-level mutations that let fruit-eating mammals metabolize sugar and whether those mutations could hold clues for developing new therapeutics for diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

Her research centers not on genes themselves, but on mechanisms known as gene regulatory regions. She focused on using a metaphor. If genes are the orchestra in the symphony that creates a living being, then gene regulatory regions are the conductors that control when, where and how much an instrument is played, Gordon explained.

Gordon received $1,000 in prize money as the Peoples Choice award winner but said she was going home with a whole lot more. The months of practicing her pitch, she said, gave her new tools to collaborate with colleagues and teach others about her work.

Even at prestigious research conferences, Gordon said, people often struggle to understand one anothers work.

Not enough researchers think about communication. But when you can explain what you do, you can find those collaborations and your research can advance much faster, she said.

You may have this cool discovery, but if its really going to be able to change the world, you need to be able to communicate it to people who dont do this every day.

Special thanks to Thermo Fisher Scientific for furnishing the prize money.

Link:
For its 7th year, Grad Slam delivers promising research you can remember (and explain) - University of California

Twenty years ago, I changed careers from management at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals to teach science to high school students. As clich as it may sound, I teach to make a difference. That is why I am compelled to tell you a story a not-so-sexy story with an outsized impact on society.

In Jeffrey Tuckers piece Choice Quotes from Bill Gatess New Book, Tucker writes: The less exposed a population is to a mostly mild pathogen, the more vulnerable they are in the future to more severe outcomes. Please dont get bored with this review because you already know this. It is taught to everyone in 9th grade biology class. And theres no sense in repeating this here, much less explaining the basics of human immunology.

Unfortunately, we can longer assume that our public-educated citizens are capable of informed decisions about anything to do with human immunology . . . or infectious disease, vaccines, viruses, and many other topics that are essential for informed decision-making in a free society. This is because the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) that influence the education and assessment of over two-thirds of our public-school students omits some of the most essential science topics.

The NGSS is marketed as K12 science content standards what students should know and be able to do. All but six states have adopted or developed their science education to the NGSS.

Ostensibly, the goals of the NGSS were . . . to ensure that by the end of 12th grade, all students have some appreciation of the beauty and wonder of science; possess sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on related issues; are careful consumers of scientific and technological information related to their everyday lives . . . Source: NGSS framework, Page 1

Yet the NGSS does not even include the key terms: immunity, infectious disease, pathogen, virus, vaccine, biotechnology, and genetic engineering. You can search the NGSS.

How does an organization led by Louis Gerstner, the former CEO of both IBM and RJR Nabisco, and supported by the National Governors Association come to develop and promote science standards with such obvious omissions?

The Next Generation Science Standards have not only failed to achieve its purported goals, but deprived our students, and future voters, of the minimum knowledge and understanding required to engage in meaningful discussion of significant science-related topics of the day: COVID, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, immunization/vaccination, infectious disease transmission, genetic modification, human reproduction and embryology, sex determination, etc.

So, whats a teacher to do? I am fortunate to work in a school district that permits flexibility to develop lessons for my students. For example, I have integrated discussion of important biology concepts, such as basic immunology, into the classroom learning experience. But liberty is not without risk to a teachers career.

Last year, someone made an anonymous complaint to my school administrators about our class discussion of the biological factors that underlie the likelihood of achieving herd immunity to COVID. A primary concern to school administration: Is this part of the curriculum?

While schools may supplement their curricula with topics that are not explicitly part of NGSS, state standardized assessments pressure school districts to narrow the curriculum. The effect of this pressure is most profound where schools are ranked by standardized test scores.

I experienced the impact of standardized testing during my first years of teaching. Animals and human systems biology, which at that time were not part of the state standards, were cut piece by piece from the biology curriculum as our districts state science scores were slightly lower than those of a competing district.

Perhaps the gaps in a NGSS-based 9th grade biology class can be filled if we encourage more of our high school students to enroll in advanced courses like the College Boards AP Biology?

Oh, wait, the human body systems and basic immunology were removed from the AP Biology curriculum during the same period the NGSS was rolled out.

But thats a whole other story.

John has been teaching students in a variety of biology courses at Greenwich High School, CT since 2003, including UConns Principles of Biology as a certified Early College Experience Instructor. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Binghamton University, a M.B.A. from Iona College, and a M.S. in Biology from St. Joseph College. Prior to changing careers to teach, he developed the capabilities of a new team to improve and innovate the global acquisition of data and information as Director, Knowledge Management and Business Information in the Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Group, New York.

READ MORE

Read more from the original source:
Why Is an Entire Generation Ignorant of Cell Biology? - Brownstone Institute

Israel launched a national five-year plan to advance the field of bio-convergence, said the state's Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.

The plan, amounting to 435 million shekels (about $127 million), was approved by Israel's National Infrastructure Forum for R&D, which includes experts from the Defence, Finance and Innovation Ministries, along with heads of academia in the country.

The program will focus on building infrastructure and developing capabilities in areas where Israel has strengths, the Innovation Ministry said.

The plan includes the establishment of infrastructure centers for applied industrial R&D, the set up of startups and consortiums of companies and academia in the field, the training and placement of biologists in the civil and defence industry etc, Xinhua news agency reported.

Bio-convergence integrates biology with additional disciplines from engineering such as electronics, artificial intelligence, physics, computer science, nanotechnology, material science and advanced genetic engineering.

Products and technologies included in the field are bionic tissues, organ engineering, transplanted products that collect data from the body, synthetic biology etc.

--IANS

int/khz/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor

See original here:
Israel launches 5-year national plan worth $127 mn to boost bio-convergence - Business Standard

May 12, 2022 Over the past few years of his PhD research, Harim Won has been laying the groundwork to develop a new type of antibiotic to treat tuberculosis (TB), addressing the long-standing problems of lengthy treatments and antibiotic resistance. Won is using a new approach to turn a normal protein system in the bacterial cell against itself.

Won, who works in the lab of Eric Rubin, adjunct professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is completing a degree in biological sciences in public health.

In January, Won was named a 2022 Harvard Horizons Scholar by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Selected for his promising research, he had the opportunity, along with the seven other Horizons Scholars, to share his work at a mid-April public symposium.

Because TB treatment ranges from six months for typical cases up to two years for multidrug-resistant cases, health care workers travel to patients homes each day to ensure that antibiotics are taken consistently. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this process, particularly in low- and middle-income countries with limited resources. As a result, after years of steadily declining deaths due to TB, the trend has reversed.

The conventional strategy of finding more effective antibiotics has shown limited success over the past few decades. If you think of a bacterial cell like an electric pencil sharpener, one of the bacterial proteins could be likened to the sharpeners blades, Won explained. If you took Silly Putty and jammed it right in the blades, it would stop that component from working and the sharpener wouldnt work, like how the bacterial cell would die if an antibiotic molecule jammed up the protein. Instead, what if we could somehow get the pencil sharpener to chew up its own wiring?

Since a traditional antibiotic molecule fits into one specific site of the protein, a single mutation there can prevent binding and lead to drug resistance.

Won has turned to other fields for inspiration, taking an approach called targeted protein degradation that has been used to create cancer drugs. Adapting the strategy for bacteria, instead of one antibiotic molecule sticking to one bacterial protein, the method uses a two-headed molecule that binds to both a target protein and a protein system called a protease. We can think of a protease like a garbage disposal in the cell. Its jobs include chewing up old proteins or ones that are messed up for one reason or another. With targeted protein degradation, youre taking a normal system in cells and redirecting it to destroy proteins that are causing disease, he said.

Compared to a traditional antibiotic, the two-headed molecule can theoretically attach anywhere on the target protein and protease, not just at one sitegiving researchers more options for designing the drug and combatting antibiotic resistance.

In proof-of-concept experiments, Won used genetic engineering techniques to modify potential target proteins and the protease. He added tags that brought the two parts close to each other inside the cell, mimicking the role of the two-headed molecule. He found that the protease could indeed degrade the target proteins and affect the bacteria, either by reducing bacterial growth or making the bacteria more sensitive to an existing antibiotic.

Won performed the experiments in a petri dish using a bacterial strain that models TB, so the next steps include testing using TB bacteria and animal models of the disease. Once the experiments identify the best target proteins, the lab will collaborate with chemists to find a molecule that binds to the proteins and the protease.

Our approach to developing new antibiotics is largely to try to figure out ways to gum up the works in the organism that is causing an infection, said Rubin. Harry is taking a very different way, turning an essential bacterial system against itself. It opens up a completely new path toward developing anti-infective medications.

More broadly, Won views antibiotic development as a matter of justice. Exposure is not equal in infectious diseases, and accessibility of treatments is also not equitable. The best way I can think of to make our world healthier is being involved in the process of making new medicines that help people, he said.

Watch a video clip from Harim Wons Harvard Horizons Symposium presentation

Jessica Lau

Photo: Kent Dayton

See original here:
A better antibiotic for tuberculosis treatment | News | Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health - HSPH News

Near the end of "Futurama" Season 7, the episode "Leela and the Genestalk" graced the small screen, featuring the titular cyclops in a fight for her life. A mutation referred to as squidification causes her to grow tentacles, so the Planet Express gang has to find a way to cure her. Much to the behest of everyone, Fry buys magic beans that end up sprouting a beanstalk with a genetic engineering facility disguised as a castle at the top. Leela ends up captured, prompting Fry and Bender to come to her rescue.

During their voyage, the duo happens upon the "castle," which Fry recalls looks like a mural that was painted on his cousin's van. Since he has no recollection of Fry's life before meeting him in the 31st century, Bender blurts out, "I keep telling you we didn't grow up together!" To Reddit usercclarke1258, this is up there with the very best of Fry and Bender's exchanges on the show, and many folks happily agreed. At the same time, several other Redditors in the thread threw their personal picks in the ring, and one could easily make a case for all of them.

Fry and Bender comprise one of the most iconic best buddy pairings in television history, and it'll be great to see them back to their old antics when "Futurama" returns on Hulu. We'll just have to wait and see when it premieres if Fry finally got it through his head that he and Bender didn't grow up together.

Originally posted here:
One Of The Best Fry And Bender Moments According To Futurama Fans - Looper

Jasper Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JSPR Get Rating) has been given a consensus recommendation of Buy by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.00.

JSPR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Jasper Therapeutics from $15.00 to $10.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Jasper Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 28th. They set an overweight rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised Jasper Therapeutics from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, January 20th.

Shares of JSPR traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2.99. The stock had a trading volume of 20,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,180. Jasper Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $2.45 and a 12 month high of $18.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.61.

Jasper Therapeutics Company Profile (Get Rating)

Jasper Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops therapeutic agents for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and gene therapies. It focuses on the development and commercialization of conditioning agents and stem cell engineering to allow expanded use of stem cell transplantation and ex vivo gene therapy, a technique in which genetic manipulation of cells is performed outside the body prior to transplantation.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Jasper Therapeutics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jasper Therapeutics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Read the rest here:
Jasper Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JSPR) Receives Average Rating of Buy from Brokerages - Defense World

Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Adjunct Professor Lincoln University, is a farmer-elected director of DairyNZ and Ravensdown. The analysis and conclusions are her own. jsrowarth@gmail.com

Precision fermentation keeps appearing in the news as the climate-friendly way of producing food. All you need is the right genetic modification for a micro-organism such as a yeast, put the yeast into a vat with the right ingredients, and away you go. After a while you can extract and purify the material in the vat all without animals (except for the genetic material at the start). Meat (steak and burgers, for instance) and milk proteins are being made in this way, all with lower environmental impact than is possible when real animals are involved.

That is the claim.

Most claims are not backed with evidence, but increasingly a suspicious public is asking for the facts. Some companies are on the ball and making life cycle analysis available. This makes examination of the claims easier but doesnt mean that the claims stack up.

READ MORE:* Meat grown from fungus? It could save the world's forests.* Is this the technology to win Kiwis over to genetic engineering?* How to keep feeding the world while fighting climate change

At the end of April, an article recently excerpted in the Genetic Literacy Project explained the possibilities for New Zealand. The article pointed to research which estimated precision fermentation for milk proteins could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 91-97% in comparison with animal production. Water use and land required were also significantly reduced.

The milk protein company Perfect Day has put the report on its website, which makes it relatively easy to understand how the savings have been made.

The life cycle analysis for the animal milk protein started with grass, fertiliser, pesticides and fuel, moved to the cow (diesel, electricity and water) and then to milk processing (electricity, gas, chemicals, enzymes and water) before use and disposal.

The analysis for the precision fermentation cradle to gate started with the material manufacturing stage (corn and other raw ingredients), then transportation followed by protein production. Neither in the flow diagrams nor the process detail diagrams, not the written explanation in the report was there any indication that the corn had to be grown somewhere, and that growing it would require fertiliser, pesticides and fossil fuels.

Perfect Day has been transparent. Most other companies have not. Non-profit investor network Ceres has shown that the claims made by alternative protein companies are based on the environmental impact of the company alone, not a complete life cycle analysis which would include the supply chain and waste. Over 80% of the emissions generated by food systems come from agricultural production but because they are not under the direct control of the company, they are not included in the calculations. Its tantamount to Fonterra doing the calculations from the tankers emptying at the processing plant no cows involved.

Sam Scannell/Stuff

Precision fermentation keeps appearing in the news as the climate-friendly way of producing food.

Precision fermentation is also not as simple as purported. Although the entrepreneurs are suggesting that cows will be obsolete within two to three decades, commercially viable products are taking a while to appear. The energy costs of maintaining a controlled environment are considerable, the embodied energy costs in creating large vats for fermentation are significant, and the energy for the fermentation has to be provided by something. Sugar is the cheapest option, and sugar, whether from corn, cane or beet, is a crop, requiring agrichemicals and fossil fuel.

The Good Food Institute has examined the problems of scaling up to deliver 10% of the worlds meat demand, estimated at 40m metric tonnes by 2030. Four thousand factories, each costing around 382 million and housing 130 x 10,000L stirred tank bioreactors would be required. Each bioreactor would need 4 x 2,000L perfusion tanks. Each factory would need to be able to host 2,300,000L cell culture. The current largest facility hosts 250,000-350,000L cell culture. Scaling up is extremely difficult.

Further, the impact of all the overlooked factors could last very much longer in the atmosphere than the methane from ruminants. University of Oxford physicists have suggested that under continuous high global consumption, cultured meat results in less warming than cattle initially, but this gap narrows in the long term and in some cases cattle production causes far less warming, as methane emissions do not accumulate, unlike carbon dioxide

The authors identified a need for detailed and transparent life cycle analysis of real cultured meat production systems. They concluded that the relative impact of cultured meat will depend on the availability of decarbonized energy generation and the specific production systems that are developed.

Increasingly the real issue for the world is decarbonised energy. The New Zealand article in Genetic Literacy Project suggested that waste could provide the energy source for vats in the future. Certainly biofuel from waste is being investigated but even though New Zealanders are high waste producers, the number of people and the geographical spread means economies of scale are lacking.

supplied

Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Adjunct Professor Lincoln University, is a farmer-elected director of DairyNZ and Ravensdown.

Research in precision fermentation is continuing. The process will become more efficient and the product more like the animal version. At the same time research is continuing to make animal production, with all its associated minerals, vitamins and co-products ever-more efficient.

New Zealand leads the world in efficient pasture-based production of animal protein.

Pasture grows in New Zealand where corn cannot.

And all marketing claims should be examined to sort the reality from the hype.

Read more:
Is precision fermentation the future for food? - Stuff

For him, the time has come for African governments to use available data on biotech solutions to take decisions that would improve livelihoods and lift millions out of extreme hunger and poverty in Africa.

He expressed the concern that anti-GMO activism has stalled the adoption of genetically engineered crops in many countries, contributing to the perpetuation of unsafe pesticide use, hunger and poverty.

Prof. Danquah made the remarks at a training workshop for scientists, graduate students undertaking agricultural biotechnology related research, researchers, undergraduate students studying agriculture and related programmes, communicators and agricultural stakeholders in Accra on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

Background

The workshop, dubbed Speaking Science Ghana and organised by Alliance for Science, a science communication initiative, was intended to equip the participants with effective communication skills that they can use in sensitising the public about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and agricultural biotechnology.

The workshop also aimed at equipping participants with the best skills in using the media to communicate about science, including opinion pieces writing, giving media interviews, and the use of digital media tools.

Alliance for Science is a science communication initiative that is working to promote science globally, whilst countering misinformation on scientific innovations and science issues like GMOs, gene editing, COVID-19 and climate change.

Why GMOs

Prof. Danquah said currently, only seven countries in Africa had approved GMOs, stressing that GMOs were under various stages of development in 11 other African countries, including Ghana.

He was of the view that there is an urgent need for more food to be produced on less land with less chemicals, saying the development of improved varieties of our staple crops with high yields and resistance to the physical and biological stresses is absolutely necessary for a green revolution and food self-sufficiency in Ghana.

He explained that science-based agriculture could preserve critical indigenous foods such as cowpea, millet, cassava, and sorghum, while reducing the environmental impacts of farming.

Prof. Danquah said on average, genetically engineered crops have cut chemical pesticide use by 37 per cent, increased crop yields by two per cent, boosted farmer profit by 38 per cent, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 12 million cars off the road.

He argued that farmers across the globe were struggling with devastating impacts of climate change, pointing out that disrupted rainfall pattern, drought, extreme weather events, pest infestations, plant diseases, crops losses, and hunger had made it necessary for African governments to adopt biotech solutions such as the GMO crops.

Better seeds developed through genetic engineering offer hope, he said, adding Let us not allow regulatory delays to prevent millions of farmers from accessing this life-saving technology.

Urgent action

Prof. Danquah has therefore called for the integration of the rapidly evolving tools of modern biotechnology including genome editing into crop improvement programmes to make agriculture in Ghana more productive and sustainable.

He also called on the government to give farmers in the country a free choice to select and adopt crops developed through modern science in plant breeding including the GM technology, saying Ghana needs a comprehensive science policy that puts science on the top of the agricultural transformation agenda.

He noted that biotech solutions and innovations enable scientists to be able to solve agricultural problems that conventional farming methods were unable to do, saying This can be achieved with precision and efficiency using plant biotechnologies and genomics as important tools.

Prof. Danquah explained that biotech innovations protected crops against insects and weeds, the two major challenges that militate against crop yields and lead to crop failure worldwide.

Misinformation

He also expressed concern about the growing misinformation on GMO crops in the country, saying It is 27 years since the first GMOs were released and I am not aware of a single credible food or feed problem on the safety of GMOs.

In addition, he noted, There is a very strong scientific consensus globally on GMOs just as scientists are on climate change.

For Prof. Danquah, it was worrying that in spite of the fact that scientific official reports on the safety and benefits of GMOs had been published by the World

Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation, National Academic of Sciences (USA), Royal Society (UK), American Medical Association (USA), French Academy of Medicine, European Commission, US Food and Drugs Administration, Society of Toxicology, and Institute of Food Technology, some uninformed people still peddled falsehood about GMOs.

Go here to see the original:
African farmers need GMOs more than other farmers in the world - Ghanaian scientist - Graphic Online

Pierre Poilievre holds his 'intervention paddle' at the Conservative Party of Canada English leadership debate in Edmonton on May 11.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Keep your Opinions sharp and informed. Get the Opinion newsletter. Sign up today.

Re More Freedom Or More Death? (Opinion, May 7): I would reject outright the narrow dichotomy proposed by columnist Doug Saunders. That is, to beat any future pandemic we either need to accept a hard lockdown (like China) or a milder but still rigid social lockdown (like New Zealand). Why not choose the approach of another Pacific island: Japan?

The country rejected any real lockdown (they were thought to be unconstitutional). Yet it ended with a COVID-19 mortality rate about one-quarter that of Canada, and ranking somewhere between those of lockdown champions Australia and New Zealand.

Lockdowns have a poor track record of disease mitigation, as measured against impingements on civil liberties and normal freedoms. Lets try to do better next time.

David Winch North Hatley, Que.

Re Poilievres Campaign To Restore BoCs Independence Is In Fact An Assault On It (Opinion, May 7): My thanks to columnist Andrew Coyne for drawing attention to Pierre Poilievres baseless assault on the Bank of Canada.

The BoCs independence is vital to the long-term health of the Canadian currency and economy. Without it, politicians of every stripe would interfere in BoC decisions not to promote the measured and well-informed (though sometimes unpleasant) decisions for which the bank is known, but rather for short-term political gain. Mr. Poilievres campaign is clear evidence to me of that.

A pox on Mr. Poilievre and his selfish ambitions. I am alarmed (but not surprised) by his efforts to bring American-style politics of misinformation and division to Canada. I will be getting off my couch to oppose it.

Ross Hedley West Vancouver

Re Preston Manning Concerned By Divisive Tone Of Tory Leadership Race (May 7): Isnt he the one who started it in the first place?

Janice Couch Kingston

I am amused that Preston Manning wants Conservative leadership candidates to play nice, because the nasty media will surely turn the spotlight on their extreme and divisive positions and beliefs.

Stephen Harper had to muzzle his more embarrassing caucus colleagues to prevent the party from becoming a laughing stock and, for the most part, kept a lid on extreme and divisive commentary. It is ironic, perhaps, that Mr. Manning led the charge to rid the old Progressive Conservatives of their progressive leanings and move the locus of party power to Western Canada, where extreme and divisive policies and beliefs seem most at home.

Ken Lutes Vancouver

Re As An Indigenous Woman, Working In The Oil Sands Didnt Expose Me To Violence It Helped Me Escape It (May 7): I thoroughly enjoyed Estella Petersens heartwarming story of how employment in the energy industry helped her escape violence. Her story should be a must-read for those who protest the development of our energy sector.

Clearly the world must reduce carbon emissions, but the war in Ukraine has taught us that the world still needs dependable energy sources as we move toward carbon neutrality. The Canadian oil and gas industry has bent backward to reduce carbon emissions, yet our government continues to throw up roadblocks.

Our oil and gas resources are often found in remote areas where many First Nations are located. Ms. Petersen provides a perfect example of how employment and partnership in the resource industry can empower First Nations people.

Bob Erwin Ottawa

Re Missing The Boat (Report on Business, May 7): In 2015, neither Canada nor the United States had any liquefied natural gas export terminals in operation. Today, Canada still has zero and the U.S. has seven in operation with more to come in the next few years.

This tells me all I need to know about why Canadas GDP per capita is consistently 15 to 20 per cent lower than that of the U.S. We will always be less productive and less wealthy than our neighbours to the south if our country continues to be run this way.

Jonathan Klein Calgary

There seems to be gigantic regulatory hurdles that Canadian companies have to undertake before major liquefied natural gas projects are undertaken, particularly when compared with other competitive countries such as the United States and Australia. While these countries have forged ahead in the past decade to build LNG plants to export to Asian markets, we seem to have only one viable company building a terminal in Kitimat, B.C.

As the headline of this article suggests, Canada really missed the boat years ago.

J.G. Gilmour Calgary

Re Watchdog Says Rogers Plan To Maintain Competition Falls Short (May 11): The decision by Canadas competition watchdog to nix the Rogers-Shaw deal is another example of how corporate governance matters in the real world.

Rogers underwent something of a boardroom meltdown when a family rift took centre stage last fall and led to a huge change in leadership, all mirroring the wishes of one man: chairman Edward Rogers. The dual-class share structure that allowed him to gain control may suit a few old boys in the boardroom, but such unchecked power also tends to blur the eyes of decision makers to reality.

In the case of the Rogers-Shaw deal, that would have meant heeding the federal governments wishes for a deal that translates into better market competition and ultimately lower customer rates. Rogers shareholders, which include a number of pension funds, may pay a steep price for that misjudgment and for governance practices that allowed such a blunder.

J. Richard Finlay The Finlay Centre for Corporate and Public Governance, Toronto

Re Pushing Scientific Boundaries Is In The Genes (Opinion, May 7): Contributor Samira Kianis perspective on genetic engineering highlighted for me an abdication by universities of a legacy to transmit culture.

That doesnt just mean history, art or literature. Culture includes morality and ethics, too. Those are highly contentious concepts nowadays and, as Ms. Kiani makes plain, they are worse than irrelevant in the view of many in the scientific community,

An institution with the capacity to educate students about culture and the unbridled pursuit of knowledge would be able to put the brakes on the dangers that Ms. Kiani warns about. Unfortunately, universities no longer seem to see that as part of their mission. Integrating input from diverse perspectives is, for many scientists, a foreign concept.

I believe they have become captive to runaway capitalism and the worship of technology. We see the consequences of that capitulation everywhere.

Neil Macdonald Toronto

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

See the article here:
Letters to the editor: May 14: 'A pox on Pierre Poilievre and his selfish ambitions.' The Conservative leadership race, plus other letters to the...