Friday, November 19, 2004

Any GMO test fields near you?

target=_blank>Information Systems for Biotechnology has a searchable
database of field test releases in the US. Thanks to the folks at
Northwest RAGE for
pointing out this resource.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

GOP Looking to Repeal Food Labeling Law

OK, so this is not specifically about GMOs or genetic material, but
with the battles that have been occurring in South America, the EU,
Africa, etc over GMO food from the US, it's no wonder that the same
people fighting to get US GMOs abroad are "thinking global, acting
local."
href="http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041118/ap_on_go_co/
fit_food_labeling_6" target=_blank>"Telling consumers where their meat,
fruit and vegetables came from seemed such a good idea to U.S. ranchers
and farmers in competition with imports that Congress two years ago
ordered the food industry to do it. But meatpackers and food processors
fought the law from the start, and newly emboldened Republicans now
plan to repeal it before Thanksgiving."

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Sunshine Project launches studies on French and German biodefense activities

Today, the
Sunshine Project has released detailed studies of the national
biodefense programs of France and Germany. The reports are the first in
a series whose aim is to better document biodefense programs in many
countries.

Friday, November 12, 2004

CAMPAIGN FOR THE PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

The Center for Responsible Genetics has issued a statement calling for
a "prohibition against the development of novel biological and toxic
agents, or the modification of biological agents, to enhance virulence,
pathogenicity, or transmission characteristics, for any purposes,
including biological defense." href="http://www.gene-watch.org/Campaign/campaignmain.html"
target=_blank>You can download and add your signature at their
website.

Advisers urge WHO to allow gene-modified smallpox

Just what we needed...href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N11565867.htm"
target=_blank>Advisers to the World Health Organization have pressed
the body to allow a few scientists to genetically modify the smallpox
virus to make it easier to study, a WHO spokesman said on Thursday.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

France biotech urges change

target=_blank>France needs to invest more in the life sciences and
concentrate its efforts on developing two or three main biotech
clusters if it is to strengthen its competitiveness, the French biotech
industry will argue during consultation meetings with government
officials over the next few weeks.

Denmark unveils biotech food strategy for foods of the future

href="http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/news-NG.asp?n=55974-
denmark-unveils-biotech" target=_blank>A new Danish farm to fork food
strategy urged the Danish Parliament to free up funding to investigate
the key role biotechnology could play in designing better tasting,
safer, foods, and ultimately the opportunity for higher quality,
cheaper foods

Race-Based Medicine, Genomics And You

The new heart failure pill targeted to black populations has revived
the genetics and race debate. href="http://www.forbes.com/home_asia/sciencesandmedicine/2004/11/09/
cx_mh_1109ntmd.html" target=_blank>Here's the latest article from
Forbes.

Speaking of Corn...

href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37992
-2004Nov9.html" target=_blank>A scientific panel of international
experts has concluded that the unintended spread of U.S. genetically
modified corn in Mexico -- where the species originated and modified
plants are not allowed -- poses a potential threat that should be
limited or stopped. But the United States yesterday attacked the report
and its conclusions as unscientific, and made clear it did not intend
to accept the recommendations. via the Washington Post

Corn: the movie

Corn has a history with narrative in the US, from the Pre-Columbian to
contemporary horror films to conspiracy theories. The development of GM
corn by companies like Monsanto is adding a whole other layer to the
ongoing narrative of corn, as reports about the spread of GM corn DNA
in the href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/chiapas/041603_chiapas_wto.cfm"
target=_blank>southern states of Mexico and the href="http://www.biotech-info.net/contaminated_corn.html"
target=_blank>contamination of food products by corn not cleared
for human consumption become more and more documented. href="http://www.gmono.com/cornthefilm.html" target=_blank>"Corn," a
new film by Sundance winner Dave Silver is a feature length
suspenseful tale of an experimental corn crop and its horrific
consequences on a local community.

Monday, November 08, 2004

Open Source Biotech

Something to watch... BIOS (Biological Innovation for Open Society) is
a effort of CAMBIA,
an Australian-based non-profit "center for the application of molecular
biology to international agriculture" that is partially funded by the
Rockefeller Foundation. target=_blank>The BIOS initiative will develop and validate a new means
for the cooperative invention, improvement and delivery of biological
technologies, drawing inspiration from the open source software
movement to forge a 'protected commons' of knowledge and
technology.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Biotech and stem cell research issues in US elections

href="http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/blog.asp?
blogID=1637&trk=blog" target=_blank>California (not surprisingly)
passed legislation supporting the funding of stem cell research. 4
counties also had measures on the ballet that would have banned GMO
crops. Only 1 passed, in Bay area Marin County.
href="http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?
siteid=mktw&dist=moreover&guid={B112015E-A9E7-4E41-BEEC-3C8DCE213651}"
target=_blank>The reaction of biotech companies' (especially pharma)
stocks to Bush's reelection
One thing that seems strange is
the stem cell research related stock sell off, reportedly due to both
the California legislation and Bush's win. While the Bush
Administration has been against funding stem cell research, why the
California measure in support of this research would have a negative
effect, I don't know.

The Stored Tissue Issue

target=_blank>Biomedical Research, Ethics, and Law in the Era of
Genomic Medicine (via the NE Journal of Medicine)

the intersections of nano and biotech

DNA is becoming another href="http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/110304/
DNA_machines_take_a_walk_110304.html" target=_blank>building
material, apparently. Much as Eugene Thacker has written in
Biomedia, the self-assembly and quantitative properties projected onto
DNA are becoming extremely important.

Friday, November 05, 2004

GM bananas and fruit flies

target=_blank>bananas
& href="http://www.healthcentral.com/news/NewsFullText.cfm?id=1505155"
target=_blank>fruit flies

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Bio-Art, Biotech + BioPolitics Teachin

What: 8 short
talks on bio-art, biotech, and bio-politics When: Friday October 29,
2004 1-6 pm
Where: CAVS at MIT (N52-390) is located on the 3rd floor of 265
Massachusetts Avenue, next to the MIT Museum. For more info, call
617.452.2484 or http://web.mit.edu/cavs/
Who: Klare Allen, Gene
Benson, Sujatha Byravan , Beatriz da Costa, Jonathan King, Eugene
Thacker , Nato Thompson, Charles Weiner, Faith Wilding
Building a
Critical Public for the Biotech Century 8 short talks on bio-art,
biotech, and bio-politics

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