Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
I s it correct? Can this be done in the name of science? Ever since the Vikings came to Iceland about a thousand years ago the natives have lived in isolation. Scientists refer to their gene pool as fairly undiluted. The family trees of the natives are well documented as …
Latin American countries are planning to end the plunder of their genetic sources by the North. At present, Latin America has about 60 per cent of the world's plant species. Coloured cotton from Peru is about to be patented in the US, where it is already being produced and the …
rice tec inc, the us seed company that sent shock waves across India by staking patent rights on a particular variety of basmati rice at the us Patent and Trademark Office, will not be able to pull the same trick on Thailand. Thai farmers have pledged to protect Khao Dawk …
A new genetic technology patented in the US that prevents germination of seeds saved from harvest, may pose serious problems for farmers. The new "Terminator' technology is potentially "lethal' and a global threat to farmers, biodiversity and food security. If commercially viable, the technology developed by the US Department of …
by being a member of the World Trade Organisation (wto ), India has agreed to provide protection to plant varieties through patents or an effective sui-generis system or by a combination of the two. Trade related intellectual property rights (trips) of the wto do not insist upon the protection of …
Microbes seeking extreme heat do not seem to care much about how their genes are organised, say scientists who have completed the second DNA sequence form such a creature. Unlike genes in most other organisms, genes that work together
all shook up: Roche, which has one of the highest research spends in the pharmaceutical industry, has launched a big overhaul of its research strategy in a bid to slash costs and speed up drug launches. The move is expected to lead to job losses at its research centres in …
talking, for most of us, comes naturally. But how we develop this ability for verbal communication had many experts guessing. But not any more. For the first time, scientists and geneticists are hot on the trail of a gene that shapes the development of human language. They hope that this …
Very soon, most employers in the US could face curbs on their use of genetic tests of their employees. In a recent announcement, American vice-president Al Gore said that the government will push a law for genetic privacy. "The fear of genetic discrimination is prompting many of the Americans to …
all evolutionary changes are ultimately brought about through mutations. Occurring at random, mutations lead to the creation of new genes that carry the various hereditary traits. The likelihood of a certain mutation occurring has no connection with whether it is likely to benefit or harm the individual. Genes in all …
after basmati rice, it is the chickpea's turn. Western companies have made yet another attempt to put their brand names on a crop that Indian farmers have grown for generations. Last year, Rice-Tech, a us -based company, after hijacking the "basmati" name - their rice was artfully christened "Texmati" - …
researchers in France have found a secondary genetic mutation that could help provide resistance to the aids virus. Alberto Beratto of St Joseph's hospital, Paris, and Luc Montagnier of the prestigious Pasteur Institute
segmentation and varying levels of similarity or difference between the segments are the basic characteristics of the insect body structure. For instance, a typical fly has a head, three thoracic segments and eight to nine abdominal segments. Each thoracic segment carries a pair of legs; the last two carry a …
after Dolly, the world's first adult cloned mammal, it is the turn of the Indian buffalo. Scientists at the National Diary Research Institute ( ndri ), Karnal have claimed to have developed a procedure for producing several identical buffalo calves from a single embryo. They are in the final stages …
nearly 60 years ago, a researcher H Turner had pointed out that females lacking one of the two x chromosomes, display a variety of abnormalities. The abnormalities include below-average height, poor development of sexual characteristics and other less serious anatomical signs. The defect in sexual development is caused by a …
Fear may be in built in your genes. A team led by Jeanne Wehner at the University of Colorado, USA, has discovered a range of DNA that are responsible for putting terror into the hearts of mice. The researchers gave mild electric shocks to rodents soon after exposing them to …
Genetically engineered livestock are producing human proteins in Scotland. A Schnieke and his colleagues at PPL Therapeutics, Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland, have developed the sheep following their success of cloning Dolly, the world first clone of an adult mammal. The cloned animals have a gene that produces a human blood coagulant …
A genetically engineered strain of cereal has been developed that is resistant to rice tungro disease. If this viral infection breaks out, it can destroy nearly 90 per cent of a crop. A team of researchers led by Roger Beachy of the International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology at the …
