GM banana plants may fight fungus
Australian researchers have created genetically modified banana plants to resist the disease that wiped out Northern Territory plantations.
Queensland University of Technology: 8 February 2011
mRNA, a new hope for genetic therapy
mRNA is a promising alternative to the traditionally risky, forms of DNA-based gene therapy.
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München: 7 February 2011
How ‘mommy instinct’ outdid science
Book review: Myth-making led to a crisis of faith in vaccination
Sydney Morning Herald: 5 February 2011
TechNyou
I haven’t read the book, but TechNyou has touched on many of the points in this and other posts) made by Seth Mnookin in this article promoting his book. I would be interested to get people’s thoughts on the book, should anyone get to read it.
Jason
TechNyou
DNA engine observed in real-time moving on track
A DNA-based motor programmed to travel along a defined track opens the door to advanced drug delivery and molecular manufacturing.
Eurekalert: 6 February 2011
GM Food debate – Melbourne
By Jason Major
TechNyou
Melbourne this week: The Monthly Argument is having a face off between proponents and opponents of GM crops
Date: Thursday 10 February
Venue: The Function Room, Dan O’Connell Hotel, 225 Canning Street (corner of Princes Street) Carlton Melway 2B J4.
Time: 6.30pm for 7.00 pm start.
Free Admission. No Need to book.
More details at Monthly Argument web site
TechNyou
TechNyou has nothing to do with the organisation or support of this event. I am advertising it as it is relevant to our purpose – ie engagement of the public on emerging technologies.
I do have a concern that the arrangement of a panel of those for and those against will result in a he says-she says argument rather than any rational discussion. My experience of such things is that you get an audience of people with firm views that are seeking information to support those views, which they take from the relevant speaker and disregard anything that challenges their view. The few that go along to actually learn and participate in a discussion come away more confused as all they hear is one side swearing black, the other side swearing white. Who do you believe, trust, acknowledge?
Regardless I will trot along to be part of the audience. I could be proven wrong.
Induced Pluripotent stem cell story made easy
By Jason Major
Technyou
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) have rocketed onto the stage, heralded as a rival for embryonic stem cells, though the latest research suggests otherwise. The rapid advances have made it hard to keep track of the field with loads of labs churning out the papers and a couple of bright idea that never made it past a media announcement.
To make it simple Ed Yong has done a brilliant job of constructing an iPSC research timeline of the research in a cool package called Dipity. Well worth a look and saves you wading through countless papers to get the background. Check the timeline and post here
Inventing batteries from air
They can chuck out so much energy, they rival petrol. Lithium-air, will this be the battery heralds a new era or a dead end?
Scientific American: 3 February 2011
Image: Claus Ableiter via WikiMedia Commons. BETTER BATTERIES: The success or failure of electric cars may depend on better batteries, spurring pursuit of new technologies like lithium-air.
Floods and spread of GM seed
By Jason Major
TechNhyou
What are the risks for uncontrolled spread of GM caused by the recent floods?
This was a question from a member of the public, one that I didn’t have a ready answer to.
After a bit of research and time on the phone, the short answer for this flood event, at least, is not much. But in 5, 10 or 20 years time if we have a greater area of land growing a greater variety of GM crops the answer may be different – but that depends on your perception of risk, of course. Everyone has a different idea of risk when it comes to GM crops. From the email, the person making this enquiry sees a huge risk with GM crops of any sort and doesn’t want them anywhere, which means my answer to her below is probably not going to allay any fears she will have. For others that see low risk, this or future flood event will arouse no more than a shrug of the shoulders.
One thing I can say is that the scientific literature didn’t help me out much on this. Nobody seems to have examined the risk of unintended presence of GM caused by flood events.
My answer
re: your question about what effect the floods might have on spread of GM crops. I have done a pretty extensive search of the scientific literature and found loads of research on gene flow, cross-contamination, and all sorts of other environmental studies re: GM crops, but none that specifically looked at how flooding would influence the spread of GM seed.
The expert opinion
I talked to Associate Professor Chris Preston from the University of Adelaide who has done a lot of research into the gene flow of canola and other environmental implications of GM crops. Essentially, as you suggest there will be some drift of seed outside the paddock caused by the flooding, but the risks associated with this are dependant on many factors including the following:
- The timing of the flood and the stage the crop is at when the flood goes through.
- The species of GM seed we are talking about – how does it cope with extended inundation?
- The likelihood of the seed actually germinating once deposited and where it germinates (if at all) also needs to be considered – eg roadside, pasture land, crop land, etc
Canola
In the case of the canola this year, any canola seed that was dispersed by the flood and wasn’t buried or destroyed by too long in the water has already germinated – at least this is what Chris has observed in southern Vic. Chris’s research and that of others has shown that canola only persists for one or two generations before dying out. And the timing of the germination (ie last month) means it will not be part of nor affect any subsequent canola crop. Where it has sprung up in a farmers cropping paddock it will be controlled by normal means when the farmer prepares their paddock for next season’s crop – chemical (where farmers usually use a mix of herbicide to control various weed types) or cultivation. The only problem that Chris suggested is that if the farmer only used glyphosate and found that his few canola volunteers didn’t die, which means he would have to use other means of control – a different chemical or cultivation.
In a nutshell, Chris said that this time around the floods will disperse some of the canola seed, but the germination will be minimal and management simple. re: canola, the risk of exceeding the adventitious level of 0.9% is low.
Other crops
If we ever get GM wheat or other cereals, any flood water will destroy the seed. How the seed of other species survives will depend on the species, how it is deposited – ie is it buried, sitting on top of the soil, etc. And again, it will depend on the timing of the germination. For any gene flow to occur with crops it must germinate and flower at exactly the right time as any subsequent crop that it springs up in.
Canola Crop, Dowerin Western Australia
Image: TechNyou
Safer way to make induced pluripotent stem cells
Induced Pluripotent Stem cell have been grown without using foreign viruses that can potentially lead to uncontrolled, cancerous cell growth.
John Hopkins Medicine: 31 January 2011
Image: Australian Stem Cell Centre – haemopoietic stem cells
Video podcast: Stem cell discovery to help with Friedreich Ataxia
For the first time in Australia, researchers from University of Melbourne and Monash Institute of Medical Research have converted diseased skin cells into stem cells.
Researchers have completed the study by using skin biopsies from patients with the rare genetic disease Friedreich Ataxia (FA). The discovery will allow for the development of new treatments for FA and related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.