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Genome sequencing has given rise to a new generation of genetically engineered bioweapons carrying the potential to change the nature of modern warfare and defense. Introduction Biological weapons are designed to spread disease among people, plants, and animals through the introduction of toxins and microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria. The method through which a biological weapon is deployed depends on the agent itself, its preparation, its durability, and the route of infection. Attackers may disperse these agents through aerosols or food and water supplies (1). Although bioweapons have been used in war for many centuries, a recent surge in...

Diamondback moths are migratory pests found in the Americas, Europe, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, but especially in areas where crops can be grown yearround. In these parts -- where it's not too hot nor too cold -- are where diamondback moths cause the greatest problems, including billions of dollars in damages to cruciferous crops such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and canola. They're one of the most damaging insects because of their high reproduction rate and resistance to most insecticides. To address these problems in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way, researchers have successfully genetically engineered (GE) male diamondback moths to...

A fungus - genetically enhanced to produce spider toxin - can rapidly kill huge numbers of the mosquitoes that spread malaria, a study suggests. Trials, which took place in Burkina Faso, showed mosquito populations collapsed by 99% within 45 days. Conducting the study, researchers at the University of Maryland in the US - and the IRSS research institute in Burkina Faso - first identified a fungus called Metarhizium pingshaense, which naturally infects the Anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria. The next stage was to enhance the fungus. They turned to a toxin found in the venom of a species of funnel-web...

Viral Batteries: A Case for Evolution? by Brian Thomas, M.S.* Researchers at MIT have invented a “greener” battery with the help of viruses. Three years ago, they engineered a virus that coats itself with material that serves as an anode, a structure within a battery that attracts positive ions. They have now engineered a virus (bacteriophage) that serves as a cathode, which indirectly links to the anode to help make the battery functional. The result is a battery with little impact on the environment. National Public Radio (NPR) ran a report on its Morning Edition that compared the development of...

Pharmed food crop approved for growth despite controversy.Rice modified to express proteins often found in breast milk will be planted in Kansas. It's certainly not the first crop designed to produce pharmaceutical proteins given the go-ahead in the United States or elsewhere (see 'Turning plants into protein factories'). But this is among the first food crops containing genes that produce human proteins to gain approval for large-scale planting. Many other pharmaceutical genetically-modified (GM) crops are grown indoors or in inedible plants such as tobacco. The rice strains, made by Ventria Bioscience in Sacramento, California, produce lysozyme, lactoferrin and human serum...

“With genetic engineering, transferring genes from one species’ DNA to another is just like taking a page out of one book and putting it between the pages of another book.” This popular analogy is used often by advocates of genetically modified (GM) food. The words on the page are made up of the four letters, or molecules, of the genetic code, which line up in “base pairs” along the DNA. The inserted page represents a gene, whose code produces one or more proteins. The book is made up of chapters, which represent chromosomes—large sections of DNA. The analogy makes the...

The long-term threat of an avian flu pandemic could be greatly reduced by a project to produce genetically modified chickens that can resist lethal strains of the virus. British scientists are genetically engineering chickens to protect them against the H5N1 virus that has devastated poultry farms in the Far East, with a view to replacing stocks with birds that are not susceptible to influenza. The technique should also offer protection against many other strains of flu with the potential to start a human pandemic, such as the H7 subgroup that was responsible for an outbreak in Dutch poultry in 2003....

Scientists have begun mixing human genes with rice in an attempt to take genetically modified crops to the next level. Researchers have inserted into rice a gene from the human liver that produces an enzyme which is good at breaking down harmful chemicals in the human body. They hope the enzyme, CYP2B6, will do the same to herbicides and pollutants when combined with rice. But anti-GM campaigners say using human genes will scare off consumers worried about cannibalism and the idea of scientists playing God. Sue Mayer of GeneWatch UK said: 'I don't think anyone will want to buy this...

The Congress of Racial Equality’s recent conference, video and commentary on agricultural biotechnology* presented personal testimonials from African farmers whose lives have been improved by GM crops, impressive data on progress, and a message of hope for poor, malnourished people in developing countries. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. But not from all quarters. Predictably, anti-GM zealots continue to offer a steady stream of unsupported and unsupportable invective. To hear them tell it, biotechnology is a "scourge" that will do nothing to save lives or reduce poverty and malnutrition. "Evil multinationals" like Monsanto are determined to impose "a new form...

Like Dr. Martin Luther King, Dr. Ruth Oniango has a dream. A member of Kenya’s parliament, she dreams of the day when the people of her poor country "can feed themselves." Congress of Racial Equality national chairman Roy Innis shares that vision. But he also knows the obstacles. "Over 70 percent of Africans are employed in farming full time," he points out. "Yet, half of those countries rely on emergency food aid. Within 10 years, Africa will be home to three-fourths of the world’s hungry people." Many of the continent’s farmers are women who labor sunup to sundown on 3...

Europeans Scoff at Bioengineered Beer Fri Jul 9, 2:09 PM ET By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Spurned across the continent by food-fastidious Europeans, the biotechnology industry has turned in its quest for converts to the ultimate ice breaker: genetically modified beer. A consortium of the world's largest biotech companies led by Monsanto Co. helped fund a Swedish brewer's new light lager that's produced with the usual hops and barley — and a touch of genetically engineered corn. Brew master Kenth Persson hopes to profit from the notoriety his biotech brew is generating, while biotech companies hope...

A genetically-modified virus that exploits the selfish behaviour of cancer cells may offer a powerful and selective way of killing tumours. Deleting a key gene from the virus enabled it to infect and burst cancer cells while leaving normal tissues unharmed, reveals a study by researchers at Cancer Research UK and Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London. Viruses spread by infiltrating the cells of their host. Normally, the detection of an intruder by a cell triggers a process called apoptosis, which causes the cell to commit suicide and prevents the virus spreading further. However, viruses can...

Greenpeace activists prevent soybean loading Group stops mixing of genetically altered, natural beans on ship Saturday, May 8, 2004 Posted: 8:07 PM EDT (0007 GMT) RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- A freighter left Brazil's southern port of Paranagua on Saturday after Greenpeace environmental activists tied themselves to mechanical loaders to prevent the ship from mixing conventional soybeans with genetically modified grain. The freighter's destination wasn't immediately known. It had originally been bound for Turkey, Greenpeace said. The activists, all members of the environmental group Greenpeace, chained themselves to the top of the loaders at 11:30 p.m. Friday, shortly before...

Farmers genetically modified corn 4,000 years ago Researchers have claimed that farmers in the US and Mexico changed corn genes through selective breeding more than 4,000 years ago. The scientists say the modifications produced the large cobs and fat kernels that make corn one of humanity's most important foods. In a study that compares the genes of corn cobs recovered in Mexico and the southwestern United States, researchers found that three key genetic variants were systematically enhanced, probably through selective cultivation, over thousands of years. The technique was not as sophisticated as the methods used for modern genetically modified crops,...

Genetic engineering of food crops has been a stealth technology, introduced with little public debate and arriving on grocery shelves unlabeled. Now another application of genetically engineered (GE) agriculture is sneaking up on us - the production of transgenic trees by paper and lumber companies. The possibility that the new genes spliced into GE trees will interfere with natural forests isn't a hypothetical risk but a certainty. During our lives, genetic transgenic trees by paper and lumber companies. The possibility that the new genes spliced into GE trees will interfere with natural forests isn't a hypothetical risk but a certainty....

BRUSSELS -- European Union agriculture ministers yesterday formally approved tougher labeling of new genetically altered food products, paving the way for new biotech foods to be sold in Europe by this fall. The move was a formality after the European Parliament passed the new rules July 2 to avoid a trade battle with the United States. But Washington said the new rules would do little to remove barriers on new genetically altered products in the European market and has maintained the EU's biotech policy violates principles of free trade. The EU's health and consumer protection commissioner, David Byrne, welcomed yesterday's...

<p>BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Parliament is expected to approve tough rules that could lift a ban on new genetically-modified foods, but require wider warning labels.</p> <p>Observers say the legislation is likely to aggravate an already bitter trade dispute between the U.S. and the EU.</p>

A hypoallergenic grass genetically modified to lack two common hay-fever allergens is set to enter field trials in the US. The researchers behind the GM grass hope it will help shift public opinion around the world in favour of GM crops. "The beauty of this grass is that it will benefit the wider public not just the primary producer," says German Spangenberg of the Plant Biotechnology Centre at La Trobe University in Melbourne. Perennial and Italian ryegrasses, the types Spangenberg and his team have genetically modified, are sown for lawns and pasture around the world and account for 70 per...