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GM Foods
One of the many problems facing commercial brewers today is the inefficiency in lager brewing. Another problem is that the fermentation process produces unwanted byproducts. Genetic modification of yeast may just have the solution for these problems.
A recent research shows that fermentation of beer carried out using genetically engineered brewer's yeast may lead to more efficient lager brewing. It also shows that GM yeast may result in a lower environmental footprint. The study was conducted by researchers from the VTT Technical Research Center of Finland.
Using more concentrated, high gravity, and very high gravity brewer's worts for beer manufacturing has environmental...
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GM Foods
Consumer responses and public attitudes are the factors that will define the role of genetic modification in our society in the long run. So it's important to look at public responses and attitudes towards biotechnology applied to agriculture and food. One of the major issues is the labeling and packaging of GM foods.
How would you know that what you eat is genetically modified?
You can't taste, see, or smell that your potato or rice has been genetically engineered. But you can check the packaging whether it is genetically altered or contains ingredients that are genetically modified. That is because some countries...
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GM Organisms
Researchers from Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have genetically modified viruses that defeat bacterial defense systems, which could enhance the effectiveness of antibiotics. This new approach could also kill bacteria that have already developed antibiotic resistance. The results of the study were published in the March 2, 2009 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics pose a serious health risk. In fact, the antibiotic-resistant bacterium, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), causes about 94,000 infections and 19,000 every year...
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Biotechnology & Cloning
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 40 million Americans report they have been told by their doctors they have rheumatic condition such as arthritis. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the country, limiting the activities of about 19 million people.
A recent study provides new insight about one of the causes of inflammatory arthritis: bacteria. Researchers from the Netherlands and the United States show that NOD2, a specific gene, triggers or worsens arthritis when muramyl dipeptide (MDP) or leftover bacterial remnants are present. This breakthrough provides a significant first step toward finding treatments...
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Biotechnology & Cloning
Much has been said against genetic modification of humans, but four arguments have been used over and over again in attacking this technology: the uniqueness argument, the freedom argument, the authenticity argument, and the giftedness argument. These assumptions are obvious versions of false genetic determinism, and are therefore unsound.
Argument # 1: Uniqueness
The uniqueness argument posits that genetic modification of humans violates the uniqueness of the genetically modified person. However, based on the significant behavioral and physical differences observed between identical twins, it seems that genetically identical clones would display very different traits. Strip away determinist assumptions and it will...
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Biotechnology & Cloning
Aldous Huxley imagined in Brave New World a society where the state manufactures different human classes, each designed to perform specific roles. In Anarchy, State and Utopia, Robert Nozick presents the genetic supermarket wherein becoming a parent is as simple as purchasing a new car: If you want a female, artistically gifted child with the blackest hair, the bluest eyes, and a superior IQ, then you only have to buy the necessary goods and services to create the exact child.
Many authors have commented on the morality in making "designer babies", and Hollywood films like Gatacca, X-Men, and Blade Runner...
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Biotechnology & Cloning
President Barack Obama is overturning yet another policy of the Bush regime. This time, Obama will allow federal taxpayer dollars to finance embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. This is in fulfillment of his campaign promise to push more research to discover better treatments for illnesses ranging from paralysis to diabetes.
Like the late actor Christopher Reeve and former first lady Nancy Reagan, Obama supports the call to end restrictions on stem cell research budget. The executive order reverses Bush's policy that was largely based on the moral belief that using embryos in creating additional stem cell lines was wrong and, thus...
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GM Foods
A group of university scientists issued a complaint against some biotechnology companies who use intellectual property claims to keep them from conducting research on the effectiveness and environmental effects of their genetically modified crops and seeds.
On the one hand, companies are playing the patent card to protect their interests. They are spending fortunes to do research. They are investing a lot of money and time on the trial-and-error tests. They are exhausting significant amounts of their resources just to get the results they want for their business. They have every right to protect their interest. They have all the...
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