Editorial  

India Silent On Biosafety In International Negotiations (Click and read online)

************************************************************

Biosafety -  Negotiations on Liability and Redress at COP-MOP 4: Forging the Way Ahead

************************************************************

Liability and Redress for damage occurring as a result of transboundary movement of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs), was the most contentious issue dominating the negotiations at the Fourth Meeting of theParties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP/MOP 4), held from 12-16 May 2008 in Bonn, Germany. The Contact Group on Liability and Redress, set up with the mandate of adopting an international regime for liability and redress, deliberated at great length on the development of a legally binding instrument for liability and redress under the Protocol.Read more.... Subscription required

************************************************************

Biosafety - COP- MOP 4 Update

************************************************************

The Cartagena Protocol sets out the first international legal framework for the cross-border movement of GMOs on the basis of the precautionary principle. Being legally binding, it is the first Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) concluded in the new millennium.

From the perspective of developing countries,this Protocol will be very helpful as these countries often lack the resources to assess the risks of biotechnology and make informed choices about it.Besides, in order to facilitate free global trade, it becomes necessary to ensure the safety of environment and human health and find multilateral solutions to the global problems.(as in the case of introduction of GMOs in the environment in the absence of adequate legal guidelines.) The various biosafety issues of GM crops at stake are:

• Socio-Economic Considerations

• Handling, Transport, Packaging And Identification Of LMOs

• Risk Assessment And Risk Management

• Capacity Building For Participation In The Biosafety Clearing House (BCH)

• Assessment And Review Under Article 35

 Read complete.. Subscription required

************************************************************

GM Zone

************************************************************

• India's Stand On Global Biosafety Meet Criticised

• Stringent Rules For Bio-Safety Demanded

• Illegal GM Food In Indian Market

• Scientists Warn Against GM Foods   Read complete

************************************************************

IPR - Review of Indian Patents Act to ensure easy access to affordable medicines

************************************************************

Compulsory licenses are essential legal instruments which help in limiting patent and other intellectual property rights in order to take care of emergency situations. Different countries have different approaches to compulsory licensing. This provision of issuing compulsory license enables governments to broaden access to technologies and information in order to achieve a number of public purposes. Many countries have provisions in laws for compulsory licensing if the patent owner refused to make the invention available or for various public interest reasons especially in cases where medicines are not available to public in sufficient quantity or are accessible at abnormally high prices. Read complete.. Subscription required

************************************************************

Bioresources - Improving the PBR Process

************************************************************

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is inviting public comments on a revised and simplified methodology for documenting and creating People's Biodiversity Registers (PBR).Mandated under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and facilitated by the NBA at panchayat level, the PBRs are expected to ensure protection of India's biodiversity and traditional knowledge from misuse and biopiracy.....Read complete

***********************************************************

Nanotechnology

************************************************************

• Tagging the Biological Molecules of Life

Nanobarcodes are a scientific application currently in the news for disease detection and cure.

These serve the same purpose as the barcodes, we are accustomed to in our day to day life. Scientists from Penn State University under took a research project on Sub micrometer Metallic Barcodes where in they tried a novel way to attach microscopic gold and silver striped rods to biological molecules  for clinical studies of biological reactions. Subscription required

• Public knowledge and attitudes towards Nanotechnology

• Code of conduct for responsible and safe use of nanotechnology    Read complete

************************************************************

Biofuels Update

************************************************************

• Certification not sufficient:Friends of Earth

• Biofuel an important agenda at global food crisis summit at Rome

• Indian Government's Draft on Biofuel Read more...Subscription required

************************************************************

Bioresources- Making Conservation Work

************************************************************

Conservationists and government representatives will meet in October 2008 in Barcelona, Spain under the umbrella of IUCN's World Conservation Congress to discuss some ofthe most pressing issues in biodiversity conservation. A key issue on the agenda will be how to manage protected areas to prevent biodiversity loss and sustain ecosystem services. In an essay published in the journal PLoS Biology, researchers say that meetingis the perfect opportunity to formulate policies that can make significant gains in biodiversity conservation and prevent the loss of species, habitat, and ecosystem services. engineering.. Read complete

************************************************************

Frontiers - Stem Cell Applications In Tissue Engineering

************************************************************

Scientists have so far been unsuccessful in transforming the pluripotent (giving rise to a variety of cells) stem cells into osteoblasts i.e. bone cells. However, in a recently published in PNAs, scientists from Netherlands University and the MIT,USA. report that Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) might be a better option than Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for tissue engineering They have  worked in collaboration to develop a novel technique of using embry-onic stem cells as a source for osteoblasts This technique, scientists believe,can open up new and promising areas of applications in the tissue engineering of bones. Read complete

• Molecular techniques improve forage quality Read more ...

************************************************************

Biology News

************************************************************

 1.      GM Human Researchers at Cornell University in New York have created the first genetically modified (GM) human embryo. The scientists put the gene for a fluorescent protein into the single-celled human embryo. Read more ...

2.      Fruit fly connection Fruit flies are used as a model to understand genetics mechanisms that underlie normal functioning of the human body. Now researchers have found that fruit flies can also be used as a powerful research tool to understand the aging process in humans which could have important implications for human health.  Read more...Subscription required

3.      Skeletal muscle development responds to nutrient availability  If you are on a diet think twice. A new studyfinds that restricted nutrient availability prevents muscle stem cells from growing into mature muscle cells. Read more ...

4.  Super Yeasts Researchers in California have reported the development of a new kind of genetically modified (GM) yeast cell that produces complex proteins up to 300 times more than possible in the past. These GM yeasts could help boost production and lower prices for a new generation of protein-based drugs that show potential for fighting diabetes, obesity, and other diseases. Read more ...

************************************************************

Genetics

************************************************************

• Diversity in Unity

Aconsortium of scientific institutions in India has completed the project of mapping the genes of various ethnic groups in India. The study published in the Journal of Genetics shows how different ethnic groups are susceptible to particular diseases and their varying responses to different medicines. Read complete

• Tilling

A new technique addresses needs of modern agriculture as well as overcomes apprehensions relating to transgenic crops. This new technique,reverse genetics is another process used to induce mutation. In this method, the genome is first sequenced and gene functions are then identified. Using various techniques, a gene of specific function is altered to develop the desired phenotype. Read complete