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************************************************************ Lead
Story-
Biofuel vs. Food
Security ************************************************************ The
natural question arising from the diversion of arable land to bio-energy crops
is what impact is this likely to have on food production and food security Read more....
Subscription required .................................................................................................................................................. ************************************************************
FAQs -
Biofuel Basics ************************************************************ What is biofuel? The term 'biofuel'
describes any fuel containing a biodegradable component obtained from a recycled
source such as vegetable oil or animal fat. For oil heat, the proper term is
Bioheat; for diesel fuel the proper term is Biodiesel... Read
complete
Subscription required .................................................................................................................................................. ************************************************************ Interview
- Integrate
technology in rice farming ************************************************************
During the recent international symposium on GM
rice in New Delhi, Dr D S Brar, Head of Plant Breeding, Genetics and
Biotechnology Division at the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines,
spoke with Gene News and shared his views on transgenic rice. Dr Brar has done
extensive research on somatic cell hybridisation and in classical and molecular
cytogenetics of cereals. He has also successfully introgressed genes from wild
species into rice for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and developed
new CMS sources.
What techniques do you think will contribute most to increasing rice yield?
Integration of conventional plant breeding and biotechnology is important to
increase the harvest index and rice yields...
Read complete
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IPRs -
Strengthening the Patent
Filing System in India ************************************************************ With the
launch of e-filing facilities by the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion, applicants in India can file their Patent and Trademark Applications
from their homes and at their convenience through the internet... Read complete... Subscription required .................................................................................................................................................. ************************************************************
Bioresources
– Role of Customary Practices in
Protecting Bioresources ************************************************************ Examples
of local level management and protection of bioresources abound all over India.
These need to be leveraged to conserve our precious bioresource heritage. Read complete ... Subscription required
Bioresources
– Preserving Plant Genetic
Resources ************************************************************ 'Plant
genetic resources for food and agriculture' as defined in Article 2 of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture means
"any genetic material of plant origin of actual or potential value for food and
agriculture..Read complete .............................................................................................................................................. ************************************************************
Nanotech
– Global Coalition for Strong
Oversight on Nanotech ************************************************************ The coalition,
which operates under the umbrella group International Center for Technology
Assessment, issued what the member groups describe as an urgent call for strong
nanotechnology oversight, along with a 15-page document setting out proposed
principles to guide regulators in oversight of nanotechnologies and
nanomaterials . Read complete ... Subscription required
.............................................................................................................................................. ************************************************************ Policy – FAO s Guidelines on Food and
Ethics ************************************************************
In view of the debate with particular reference to food and ethics, Food and
Agriculture Organisation has come up with a series of guidelines some of which
are....Read complete .............................................................................................................................................. ************************************************************ Genetics -
Controlling Pathogens,
Bioterrorism Agents ************************************************************ Rapid advances in genome sequencing
have made possible the use of comparative genomics in designing effective
diagnostic tools for the detection of pathogens attacking humans, crops and
livestock. This will also help identify biological agents on the battlefield....Read
complete
..Subscription required .................................................................................................................................................. ************************************************************
Science News ************************************************************
WORLD S FIRST FOURTH GENERATION CLONED PIG :
Japanese researchers have said that they have created a fourth-generation
cloned pig in world-first achievement that could lead to new transplant
treatments for humans....Read complete ..Subscription required KOREAN FAKE
STEM CELL LINE SCIENTIST MADE REAL DISCOVERY: While
faking the first human embryo-cloned stem cells, disgraced South Korean
scientist Hwang Woo-Suk in 2004 unwittingly created the first human stem cell
derived by parthenogenesis..Read complete
..Subscription required .................................................................................................................................................. ************************************************************
Civil Society -
Agrarian Crisis:
Insights from a Jan Sunwai ************************************************************ While farmers’ suicides constitute the
most tragic face of the rural agrarian crisis, there is also the astonishing
drop in foodgrains absorption and decline in average calorie intake....
Read complete
Civil Society -
Report Review: Committee
on World Food Security ************************************************************ Participants of the 32nd session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS)
stressed on the need to boost both aid and investment in agriculture and to
support a more holistic approach to the issue of hunger reduction...
Read complete
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Happenings
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Building CSO Capacity on
Trade in GMOs ************************************************************
Genewatch UK and Gene Campaign organised a twoday workshop on the “Implications
of Labelling, Traceability and the WTO Dispute on Developing Countries in London
on June 28-29, 2007. The aim of the workshop was to build capacity on the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) and international agreements / organisations affecting
biotechnology, reflect on the ruling of the WTO on the genetically modified (GM)
crops trade dispute between the EU and the US, and to understand its
implications for developing countries... Read
complete Subscription required
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