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. …
for some, it was the logical outcome of more than a decade of intensive research. For others, it was the culmination of a mind-boggling journey through uncharted territory. Either way, the recent completion of the human genome project is seen as a landmark development. And the breakthrough couldn't have been …
As we peek into our past, the number of our ancestors seems to double in every generation. For every human being has two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, 16 great great grandparents and so on. By this yardstick, the number of ancestors that each of us had about 50 generations …
Brazilian farmers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul were recently confronted by the prickly issue of genetically modified (gm) crops. Although the commercial planting of gm crops is officially banned in Brazil, about 80 per cent of Rio Grande do Sul's soya produce is said to have been …
it is quite easy to undo the long process of evolution, a recent experiment shows. Just by rearranging the dna of a yeast species, researchers have turned one species into another. The genetic manipulation has answered a troublesome question: how species form? Speciation
the more virulent the pathogen, the less fertile it is, Australian scientists have discovered, showing that there is often a genetic trade-off between ferocity and fecundity in fungi that infect plants. Virulence is the ability of a pathogen, such as a fungus, to attack a host plant successfully. Fungi have …
http://www.gpgNet.net GpgNet provides a forum for researchers and policymakers to exchange information and discuss issues relating to the emerging concept of global public goods (GPG). What is that? you may ask. GPG can be broadly described as resources or services that have a fairly universal impact: on a large number …
You have been described as the father of dna fingerprinting technology. Can you tell us the genesis? It all happened the way things usually happen in the field of science. By sheer accident. In 1977, I decided to move to the University of Leicester (in the uk). The primary area …
the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (geac) categorically rejected for the second time in five months a request by two North-based aid agencies to allow the import of 23,000 tonnes of genetically modified (gm) corn-soya blend into India. Permission was denied because it was felt that the consignment could be contaminated …
an unprecedented legal battle is being fought in Pakistan's Lahore High Court. Responding to a petition filed by two food rights groups against the import of genetically modified (gm) soyabean from the us, the Pakistan government has declared that the transgenic variety is safe in terms of its impact on …
crosses between genetically modified (gm) oilseed rape and a wild relative produce hybrid plants that are as toxic to insects as the original crop. Though it is still unclear how such hybrids fare in the wild, the finding is likely to be seized on by environmentalists as proof that field …
a recent study could have broad implications for farmers' ability to stop pests from becoming resistant to pesticides. Scientists from the us-based North Carolina State University have found that in the us, cotton pests mature feeding on corn all summer before moving towards south to munch cotton in the autumn. …
RIGHTS ISSUE: A patent on atta chakkis (flour mills). It sure was unexpected. But it's been granted. The latest victim of the patent rights regime is the Asian traditional knowledge of producing atta. The US patent office has given patent rights to Nebraska-based ConAgra Inc for the "method for producing …
the latest in the long list of controversies regarding the loss of India's biological wealth is from the state of Chhattisgarh. The media is abuzz with reports on the proposed collaboration between Raipur-based Indira Gandhi Agricultural University (igau) and Syngenta, one of the world's biggest agriculture companies. The controversy revolves …
mustard, an integral part of Indian cuisine, has now become the subject of a raging controversy in the top echelons of India's scientific establishment. The debate centres around three transgenic mustard varieties that await clearance from the high-powered Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (geac) to make mustard (Brassica juncea) the first …
darjeeling tea may soon have its characteristic aroma patented. The Centre for dna Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (cdfd), Hyderabad, is soon starting a project to develop molecular markers, which will distinguish this world famous variety from its cheaper cousins and protect its market value. The Union ministry of commerce has recently …
an international study on genetic mutations in people living in the high-radiation coastal belts of southern Kerala has hit the headlines. But for all the wrong reasons. Scientists who conducted the study have not followed guidelines issued by the Union government on transfer of biological data outside the country. The …
MEASURE 27 ON GM FOOD LABELLING . Oregon . November 2002 The big food producers and biotechnology researchers are celebrating. Their strategy has paid off. The voters of US's Oregon state rejected a ballot initiative that would have required labels on food containing genetically modified (GM) material. More than 73 …
for those rallying against the entry of genetically modified (gm) mustard in India, there is good news. At least for the time being. After mulling over the issue of granting permission for cultivation of transgenic mustard in India for long, the Union government has now decided to postpone the approval. …
