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.
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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

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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.. Subscription required

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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 - 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.   Subscription required