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In This Issue |
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Editorial

Should there be Foreign Investment in Higher Education
and Research? (Click and read online) |
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Lead
Story-
Health Impact of GM
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Health is
defined by the World Health Organization as..."a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and
infirmity.". In this context of the definition GM foods do not satisify the
physical needs of the consumers because there is always a risk of adverse impact
on health. The scientific evidence so far indicates that any use of GE food
without the proper risk assessment will endanger public health.
Read more....
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Nanotechnology -
Nanotechnology in Agriculture:
Promises and Concerns
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Nanotechnology has the potential to bring about profound changes at every step
of the food chain, on the livelihoods of farmers and food sovereignty worldwide.
It is also believed that nanotechnology will provide new tools for agricultural
research geared towards improving the efficiency of food production, so crucial
for the food security of developing countries
Read complete..
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IPRs -
Patent Concerns
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GRAA Genomic
Research and Accessibility Act(2007) is an unprecedented move to ban genetic
patentsin the USA. In fact, the language of the proposed legislation appears to go
farther than by rendering unpatentable all' nucleotide sequences', their
properties and correlations and their naturally occurring products. Read complete
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IPRs -
Geogpraphical indications
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"For ages,
rural people, mostly women, of Mithila in Bihar have developed their own
tradition of art, popularly known as Madhubani paintings and named after Madhubani
district. In a similar move, Orissa is going all out to protect
traditional handloom designs whose designs are being unfairly ripped off by
power looms causing massive losses to the traditional weavers. Read
complete..
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FAQs -
What is Bioethics
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Bioethics is
the study of ethical issues brought about by advances in biological and medical
sciences. It blends law, philosophy, theology to discuss issues arising out of
complex interaction of human life, science and technology.....Read complete |
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Bioresources
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Tapping Ayurvedic resources
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Currently 10
premier research organizations", including the Indian Institutes of Technology,
are involved with the programme which is focussing on establishing the
scientific validity of Ayurvedic rasayana (herbs) and their rejuvenating ability
sources.
Subscription required
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Biofuel Update
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Grain being
fed to cattle and other animals when the poorest humans are unable to buy it and
the race to usecrops in the production of biofuels. All these are for cingthe
experts to look towards the second generation biofuels extracted from
micro-algae and other microbial sources. ..Read
more...Subscription required
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New Frontiers -
Applying
Genomics to Cancer
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On cogenomics
(the application of genomics to cancer) apart from identifying the key gene tries to
analyse a key set of genes expressed by the tumor in order to provide a more
precise and reliable information. Seen as a step towards personalized
treatment, oncogenomics may help in designing tailor-made treatment after
a careful survey and assessment of this disease....
Read complete |
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New Frontiers -
Identifying cancer stem cells to develop therapeutics
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More
recently, a new model has been proposed, which considers that tissue stem cells
undergo mutations that deregulate normal self-renewal pathways, leading to tumor
formation. Since stem cells are immortal or have a longer lifespan, they can more
easily accumulate mutations.....
Read complete |
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News & News Briefs
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German Parliament amends biotechnology law :
The German
Parliament, the Bundestag, has amended its biotechnology law to allow labelling of
"GMO free" animal products and the cultivation of genetically modified (GM)
maize. Under this law animal foods such as meat, milk and eggs can be labelled as
"without gene technology" if their feed is free of GM plants. The use of this
label is purely voluntary. While.
Read more ...
Fishy ice-cream!
It is
important to note that Unilever is using GE antifreeze fish proteins from the
blood of the Ocean Pout (an eel-like species from a polar ocean) in ice
cream products sold in the US, Australiaand New Zealand. Antifreeze .Read
more...Subscription required
GM sugar beets to make sugar industry feel bitter :
The US sugar
beet industry is hoping to introduce a new gene spliced variety by Monsanto as
early as spring 2008. Experts say, the move could lead to huge economic losses for
the sugar industry and to US food companies who use sugar as an ingredient.
Organic seed
Read more ... |
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Community -
Sustainable
Cultivation of Rice in India: A research outcome
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The aerobic
rice system is a rice cropping system that use svarieties that can be grown without
standing water (similar to upland rice), but can produce yield values that are
only 20-30% lower than those of lowland rice (grown with standing water).
Read complete |
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Community -
Bioremediation: an
economic and sustainable way to clean
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The
micro-organisms eat the contaminants present in water - whetherit is being
treated prior to industrial use or even for drinking – in the process called
bioremediation. By using bioremediation and nano filtration technology
combined, the water cleaning process is integrated- using far less energy than
current processes." according to a professor of Chemical and Process Engineering
in the Centre for Clean Water Technologies at the University.
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