#Self-propelled Powder To Stop Bleeding Created, University of British columbia Researchers UBC researchers have created the first self-propelled particles capable of delivering coagulants against the flow of blood to treat severe bleeding,
a potentially huge advancement in trauma care. leeding is the number one killer of young people,
and maternal death from postpartum hemorrhage can be as high as one in 50 births in low resource settings so these are extreme problems,
explains Christian Kastrup, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular biology and the Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British columbia.
Traditional methods of halting severe bleeding are not very effective when the blood loss originates inside the body like the uterus,
but the issue is that it hard to push these therapies against severe blood flow,
biochemical engineers and emergency physicians to develop simple, gas-generating calcium carbonate micro-particles that can be applied in powder form to stop critical bleeding.
The particles work by releasing carbon dioxide gas, like antacid tablets to propel them toward the source of bleeding.
The carbonate forms porous micro particles that can bind with a clotting agent known as tranexamic acid,
and transport it through wounds and deep into the damaged tissue. After studying and modeling the movement of the particles in vitro,
Even in a scenario that mimicked a catastrophic event like a gunshot wound to a femoral artery,
the particles proved highly effective in stopping the bleeding. While much more rigorous testing and development is needed to bring the agent to market
from sinus operations to treating combat wounds. he area wee really focusing on is postpartum hemorrhage:
#Computer system Being developed to Predict Change In The Alzheimer's Brain, MIT Study MIT researchers are developing a computer system that uses genetic, demographic,
and clinical data to help predict the effects of disease on brain anatomy. In experiments, they trained a machine-learning system on MRI data from patients with neurodegenerative diseases
and found that supplementing that training with other patient information improved the system predictions. In the cases of patients with drastic changes in brain anatomy, the additional data cut the predictionserror rate in half,
from 20 percent to 10 percent. his is the first paper that wee ever written on this,
says Polina Golland, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT and the senior author on the new paper. ur goal is not to prove that our model is the best model to do this kind of thing;
it to prove that the information is actually in the data. So what wee done is, we take our model,
and we turn off the genetic information and the demographic and clinical information, and we see that with combined information,
we can predict anatomical changes better. First author on the paper is Adrian Dalca, an MIT graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science and a member of Golland group at MIT Computer science and Artificial intelligence Laboratory.
Theye joined by Ramesh Sridharan, another Phd student in Golland group, and by Mert Sabuncu, an assistant professor of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital,
who was a postdoc in Golland group. The researchers are presenting the paper at the International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention this week.
The work is a project of the Neuroimage Analysis Center, which is based at Brigham and Women Hospital in Boston and funded by the National institutes of health.
Common denominator In their experiments, the researchers used data from the Alzheimer Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, a longitudinal study on neurodegenerative disease that includes MRI scans of the same subjects taken months and years apart.
Each scan is represented as a three-dimensional model consisting of millions of tiny cubes or oxels, the 3-D equivalent of image pixels.
The researchersfirst step is to produce a generic brain template by averaging the voxel values of hundreds of randomly selected MRI scans.
They then characterize each scan in the training set for their machine-learning algorithm as a deformation of the template.
Each subject in the training set is represented by two scans, taken between six months and seven years apart.
The researchers conducted two experiments: one in which they trained their system on scans of both healthy subjects
and those displaying evidence of either Alzheimer disease or mild cognitive impairment, and one in which they trained it only on data from healthy subjects.
In the first experiment, they trained the system twice, once using just the MRI scans
and the second time supplementing them with additional information. This included data on genetic markers known as single-nucleotide polymorphisms;
demographic data, such as subject age, gender, marital status, and education level; and rudimentary clinical data, such as patientsscores on various cognitive tests.
The brains of healthy subjects and subjects in the early stages of neurodegenerative disease change little over time,
and indeed, in cases where the differences between a subject scans were slight, the system trained only on MRI data fared well.
In cases where the changes were marked more, however, the addition of the supplementary data made a significant difference.
Counterfactuals In the second experiment, the researchers trained the system just once, on both the MRI data and the supplementary data of healthy subjects.
But they instead used it to predict what the brains of Alzheimer patients would have looked like had they not been disfigured by disease.
In this case there are no clinical data that could validate the system predictions. But the researchers believe that exploring this sort of counterfactual could be scientifically useful. t would illuminate how changes in individual subjects for example, with mild cognitive impairment,
which is a precursor to Alzheimer evolve along this trajectory of degeneration, as compared to what normal degeneration would be,
Golland says. e think that there are very interesting research applications of this. But I have to be honest
and say that the original motivation was curiosity about how much of anatomy we could predict from genetics
and other non-image data. t not surprising that clinical and genetic data would help,
says Bruce Rosen, a professor of radiology at Harvard Medical school and director of the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital. ut the fact that it did did as well as it is encouraging. here are lots of ways these tools could be beneficial to the research community,
Rosen adds. o my mind, the more challenging question is whether they could be useful clinically.
Some promising experimental Alzheimer drugs require early determination of how the disease is likely to progress,
Rosen says. Currently, he says, that determination relies on a combination of MRI and PET scan data. eople think MRI is expensive,
but it only a fraction of what PET scans cost, Rosen says. f machine-learning tools can help avoid the need for PET scans in evaluating patients early in the disease course,
that will be very impactful. s
#Lab-Grown 3-D Intestine Regenerates Gut Lining In Dogs, Johns Hopkins Children's Center Study Lab-Grown 3-D Intestine Regenerates
Gut Lining In Dogs-Findings can lead to gut replacement therapy in people with intestinal deficiencies.
Working with gut stem cells from humans and mice, scientists from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the University of Pittsburgh have grown successfully healthy intestine atop a 3-D scaffold made of a substance used in surgical sutures.
In a further step that takes their work well beyond proof of concept, researchers report their laboratory-created intestine successfully regenerated gut tissue in the colons of dogs with missing gut lining.
described ahead of print in the journal Regenerative medicine, bring researchers closer to creating an implantable intestine as replacement therapy for a range of devastating disorders-including infections, cancer and trauma-that result in loss or death of gut tissue.
Chief among them is a condition that affects 12 percent of premature newborns, called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC),
which is marked by the rapid death of intestinal cells and permanent loss of intestinal tissue.
The tube-shaped scaffold, designed several years ago in collaboration with Cornell University researchers and composed of biodegradable material similar to that used in surgical sutures
But the new work pushes that effort further because it shows how stem cells, when mixed with immune
"says principal investigator David Hackam, M d.,Ph d.,the Johns Hopkins Children's Center's surgeon-in-chief,
who initiated and conducted most of the work at the University of Pittsburgh. In an initial set of experiments reminiscent of a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich technique,
researchers took stem cells from the colons of babies undergoing intestinal surgeries and from mice,
Doing so further amplified the growth and differentiation of new gut cells, specifically the growth of Paneth cells responsible for production of infection-fighting proteins that guard against intestinal infections
Hackam says, a finding that highlights the therapeutic potential of certain probiotics for NEC. Next,
which are responsible for the production of protective mucus that coats and shields the intestine-a common occurrence in NEC. The observation,
and stimulated the growth of new blood vessels around the implant. That observation, researchers say, affirmed the ability of the 3-D intestine to spur the growth of new tissue not only in lab dishes,
the dogs underwent periodic colonoscopies and intestinal biopsies. Strikingly, the guts of dogs with implanted intestines healed completely within eight weeks.
By contrast, dogs that didn't get intestinal implants experienced continued inflammation and scarring of their guts."
"says study author Stephen Badylak, D. V. M.,Ph d.,M d.,professor of surgery and deputy director of the Mcgowan Institute for Regenerative medicine at the University of Pittsburgh."
Timothy Keane, Maria Quidgley, Jenna Dziki, Stephen Badylak and Deena Wasserman of the University of Pittsburgh;
and John March and Cait Costello of Cornell University. The work was funded by a Hartwell Biomedical Collaborative Research Award with additional support from National institutes of health grants R01gm078238 and RO1DK08752 2
#Researchers Learn How To Steer The Heartith Light, University of Oxford Study Researchers learn how to steer the heart--with light We depend on electrical waves to regulate the rhythm of our heartbeat.
When those signals go awry, the result is a potentially fatal arrhythmia. Now, a team of researchers from Oxford and Stony Brook universities has found a way to precisely control these waves-using light.
Their results are published in the journal Nature Photonics on 19 october. Both cardiac cells in the heart and neurons in the brain communicate by electrical signals,
and these messages of communication travel fast from cell to cell as'excitation waves'.'Interestingly, such waves are also found in a range of other processes in nature, from chemical reactions to yeast and amoebas.
electrical devices (pacemakers or defibrillators) or drugs (eg beta blockers. However, these methods are relatively crude: they can stop
borrowing tools from the developing field of optogenetics, which so far has been used mainly in brain science.
'When there is scar tissue in the heart or fibrosis, this can cause part of the wave to slow down.
'Optogenetics uses genetic modification to alter cells so that they can be activated by light. Until now, it has mainly been used to activate individual cells
'A protein called channelrhodopsin was delivered to heart cells using gene therapy techniques so that they could be controlled by light.
Then, using a computer-controlled light projector, the team was able to control the speed of the cardiac waves,
In the short term, the ability to provide fine control means that researchers are able to carry out experiments at a level of detail previously only available using computer models.
potentially improving our understanding of how the heart works. The research can also be applied to the physics of such waves in other processes.
Dr Emilia Entcheva, from Stony Brook University, said:''The level of precision is reminiscent of what one can do in a computer model,
except here it was done in real heart cells, in real time.''Precise control of the direction, speed
This ideal therapy has remained in the realm of science fiction until now.''The team stresses that there are significant hurdles before this could offer new treatments-a key issue is being able to alter the heart to be light-sensitised
However, as gene therapy moves into the clinic and with miniaturization of optical devices, use of this all-optical technology may become possible.
Griffith University Study Griffith University researchers have opened a new avenue to advance a therapy to repair the paralysed spinal cord.
By using floating liquid marbles, cells can freely associate and form natural structures as they would normally within the human body."
which cells are transplanted into the injury site, "says research supervisor Dr James St john, from Griffith's Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery.
The technique was developed when neurobiology merged with microfluidic engineering technology. Lead researcher, Griffith Phd student Mr Raja Vadivelu,
and Professor Nam-Trung Nguyen (Queensland Micro-and Nanotechnology Centre) collaborated with Dr Jenny Ekberg (Queensland University of Technology) and scientists in Spain."
"In Australia, more than 12,000 people live with spinal cord paralysis and there is at least one new occurrence every day,
"says Dr St john ."Although rehabilitation medicine has resulted in reductions in mortality, the current outcome for patients is permanent paralysis, with an overall cost to the community of $2 billion a year."
"In light of the overwhelming impact of spinal cord injury, new therapeutic interventions for drug discovery and cell therapy are needed urgently."
"The transplantation of the specialised cell type from the olfactory (sense of smell) system is a promising approach to spinal cord repair."
"Successful partial regeneration of a completely severed spinal cord in a human was achieved recently in an overseas study,
thus demonstrating this therapy can work, "says Mr Vadivelu.""What is needed now is to make the transplantation therapy more effective and suitable for patients with a range of different spinal cord injuries."
"The new method enables transplanted cells to survive and better integrate into the injury site.
In turn, this will help the spinal cord to regenerate more effectively.""Liquid marbles are a remarkably simply way to culture cells in 3d,
"says Dr St john."A droplet of liquid that contains the cells is placed upon a carpet of teflon powder to create a liquid marble
which can then be floated on cell culture medium.""By having an air interface between the liquid marble and the cell culture medium upon
which it floats, the liquid marble easily rotates.""This allows the cells within the liquid marbles to freely associate to form natural structures without the confines imposed upon them by other 3d culturing methods."
"Floating liquid marbles have been known for almost 200 years. In 1830, British explorer Alexander Burnes was travelling through
what is now Pakistan when he observed the Indus river merging with the sea. He noted that"round globules filled with water"floated on the seawater and formed when the freshwater detached sand from the sand banks."
"Burnes probably didn't think they could be used to help develop a therapy for spinal cord repair,
but combining neurobiology and engineering at Griffith University has at last found an incredible use for the'round globules,
'"says Dr St john. The floating liquid marble technique can also be used to grow many other cell types in 3d
and is likely to bring dramatic advances in several biological fields s
#Powerful Plastic Microscope Brings Better Diagnostic Care for World's Rural Poor, Rice university Reveals You can learn a lot about the state of someone's immune system just by examining their blood under the microscope.
An abnormally high or low white blood count, for instance, might indicate a bone marrow pathology or AIDS.
The rupturing of white blood cells might be the sign of an underlying microbial or viral infection.
Strangely shaped cells often indicate cancer. While this old, simple technique may seem a quaint throwback in the age of high-technology health care tools like genetic sequencing
flow cytometry and fluorescent tagging, the high cost and infrastructure requirements of these techniques largely limit them to laboratory settings something point-of-care diagnostics aims to fix.
In a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative,
a research team from Rice university has developed recently a plastic, miniature digital fluorescence microscope that can quantify white blood cell levels in patients located in rural parts of the world that are removed far from the modern laboratory."
"One of the driving aspects of the project is the cost of the sample or sample preparation,"said Tomasz Tkaczyk, associate professor, Department of Bioengineering, Rice university, Houston,
Texas."Many systems which work for point-of-care applications have quite expensive cartridges. The goal of this research is to make it possible for those in impoverished areas to be able to get the testing they need at a manageable price point."
"Tkaczyk co-authors on this research included Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Fellow of The Optical Society and a professor in Rice's Department of Bioengineering.
Her research today involves translating molecular imaging research to point-of-care diagnostics describes the fluorescence microscope system this week in a paper published in Biomedical Optics Express, from The Optical Society.
How the Microscope Works The researchers'device identifies and quantifies lymphocytes, monocytes, and granulocytes three types of white blood cells in a drop of blood mixed with the staining compound acridine orange.
The compound is repelled by water at neutral ph which allows it to easily diffuse through cellular and nuclear membranes,
where it turns green or red when encountering DNA or RNA, respectively, with emission maximums at 525 nm and 650 nm.
By optimizing a microscope for these emission peaks, the researchers are then able to quantify the white blood cells in a sample consisting only of 20 microliters of dye,
which consisted of one polystyrene lens and two polymethyl methacrylate aspheric lenses, the researchers used a single-point diamond turning lathe.
The lenses were enclosed then in an all-plastic, 3d printed microscope housing and objective. Once constructed, the microscope provided a field of view of 1. 2 millimeters,
allowing for at least 130 cells to be present for statistical significance when quantifying white blood cells. Additionally
and image sensor, cost less than $3, 000 to construct. At production levels upwards of 10,000 units,
the researchers estimate that this price would fall to around $600 for each unit, with a per-test cost of a few cents.
Future work for Tkaczyk and his colleagues includes developing an automated algorithm for white blood cell identification,
The use of low cost components such as LEDS reflectors, and USB detectors, combined with the all-plastic housing and lenses will allow for future versions of the prototype to be mass-produced
#Scientists Produce Beneficial Natural Compounds In Tomato--Industrial Scale up Potential, Study Reveals Scientists produce beneficial natural compounds in tomato--industrial scale up potential Scientists at the John Innes Centre have found a way to produce industrial quantities of useful natural compounds efficiently,
and Genistein, the compound found in soybean which has been suggested to play a role in prevention of steroid-hormone related cancers, particularly breast cancer.
and Dr Eugenio Butelli working in Professor Cathie Martin's lab at the John Innes Centre,
a plant found in most UK gardens and used as a model plant in scientific investigation.
and to influence the amount of energy and carbon the plant dedicated to producing these natural compounds.
and flavanoids and to devote more of energy to doing this in fruit. Introducing both Atmyb12
Tomatoes are a high yielding crop--producing up to 500 tonnes per hectare in countries delivering the highest yields (FAOSTAT 2013)
, grapes, soybeans, etc..The tomatoes can be harvested and juiced and the valuable compounds can be extracted from the juice.
The tomatoes themselves could potentially become the source of increased nutritional or medicinal benefit. Professor Cathie Martin said:"
"Our study provides a general tool for producing valuable phenylpropanoid compounds on an industrial scale in plants,
Our work will be of interest to different research areas including fundamental research on plants, plant/microbe engineering, medicinal plant natural products,
"Medicinal plants with high value are often difficult to grow and manage, and need very long cultivation times to produce the desired compounds.
Our research provides a fantastic platform to quickly produce these valuable medicinal compounds in tomatoes.
which are the major groups of medicinal compounds from plants
#3-D Pancreatic cancer Organoid May Help Predict Clinical Responses, Nature Medicine Publishes 3-D pancreatic cancer organoid may help predict clinical responses,
personalize treatments. Clonally derived organoids could be used to ID patient-specific sensitivities to novel therapeutics.
The development of a new method to grow three-dimensional organoid cultures of pancreatic tumors directly from patients'surgical tissue offers a promising opportunity for testing targeted therapies
and drug responses and personalizing treatments in a rapid, cost-effective manner. The findings are reported currently in the Advance Online issue of the journal Nature Medicine."
"These 3d organoids are, essentially, 'mini tumors'in a culture dish,"explains the study's corresponding author Senthil Muthuswamy, Phd, Director of the Cell biology Program in the Cancer Research Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical center
(BIDMC) and Visiting professor at Harvard Medical school.""The organoids have the same properties or traits that are seen in the patient tumor from which they came and,
therefore, can serve as an innovative platform for both cancer research and for cancer treatment."
"Scientists have been growing cells in 3d culture for decades. These models are used to help understand various biological processes such as tissue development and cancer growth,
and Muthuswamy's laboratory has spent the past 15 years growing normal and cancer-derived cells from human breast tissue as 3d organoids.
This new paper provides an innovative new direction for this technology.""We have developed now a new methodology to grow human pancreatic tumor cells from surgical tissues
and have demonstrated that these tumor organoids recreate both morphology and biology of the cancer tissue in the patient,
"says Muthuswamy, who conducted this research while at the University of Toronto. The research team also demonstrated that these clonally derived organoids could be used to identify patient-specific sensitivities to novel therapeutic agents."
"From a research point of view, this organoid approach now provides us with a'live'biobank of tissue for discovery
and validation of new drugs and targets and modeling resistance to therapy,"says Muthuswamy.""By using a cohort of patient samples from
which we can screen for drugs and mutations, we can begin to understand why some patients respond to a treatment
while others do not, and can thereby avoid giving patients unnecessary or ineffective treatments. And from a clinical point of view, this approach could help assist patients and their oncologists in making treatment decisions.""
""Pancreatic cancer is a terrible disease, "said Pier Paolo Pandolfi, MD, Phd, Director of the BIDMC Cancer Center."
"Patients diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer have a survival rate of less than three percent.
Early detection methods and new treatment strategies are needed desperately. These new pancreatic progenitor organoids and tumor organoids can be used to model pancreatic cancer
and for drug screening to identify precision therapy strategies
#New lab-on-chip device promises faster TB diagnosis Singapore: US researchers have developed a new low-cost lab-on-a-chip device to aid analysis of sputum from patients with pulmonary diseases such as tuberculosis and asthma.
The study published in the journal Lab on a Chip elaborated that the new method will help in easing diagnosis for patients and aid in early detection and speedy recovery.
With this device, all biospecimens are contained safely in a single disposable component. The system can be operated easily by a nurse with a touch of a few buttons.
The patient could even operate the device at home said the study. Lead researcher, Mr Tony Jun Huang, professor at the Pennsylvania State university, said,
"This is the first on-chip sputum liquefier anyone has developed so far. The device will aid in accurate diagnosis
and provide alternate treatment approaches for patients with pulmonary diseases.""""Current analysis method has said several disadvantages
the team, "Human specimens can be contagious, and sputum analysis requires handling of specimens in several discrete machines.
Also, the sample size required for analysis is often larger than a person can easily produce
#European union Lags Well Behind the U s. in Innovation There are many different explanations for the euro crisis:
poor fiscal management, loose banking regulation, etcut one major contributor to Europe problems that continues to hold back economies today is a lack of innovation, reported Simon Nixon of The Wall street journal. The European commission own
nnovation Scorecardshows that on almost every measure of innovation, the European union lags well behind the U s. and on some measures now lags parts of Asia,
while differences between EU countries are widening. Worryingly, in some countries, progress on improving innovation has gone into reverse as financial pressures have eaten into budgets.
Boosting innovation is essential if Europe is to raise its long-term sustainable growth ratesixon continues to report that innovation has been held back by the EU reluctance to adopt a science-based approach to regulation.
Simon Nixon nails it on the head with his conclusion: Successful innovation depends on collaboration and openness to outsiders and new ideas.
political director for the Cornell Alliance for Science at Cornell University and a co-author of n Ecomodernist Manifesto,
this piece argues how banning the cultivation of genetically modified crops in certain European countries will a chilling affect on scientific innovation in that part of the world.
Below is a brief blurb of Marl Lynasopinion piece: Beginning with Scotland prohibition on domestic genetically modified crop cultivation on Aug 9, Europe scientists and farmers watched with mounting dismay as other countries followed suit.
Following the Scottish decision, signatories from numerous scientific organizations and academic institutions wrote to the Scottish government to express grave concern bout the potential negative effect on science in Scotland.?
Without a trace of embarrassment, a spokeswoman for Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish national party, admitted that the first minister science adviser had not been consulted because the decision asn based on scientific evidence.
Instead, the priority was to protect the lean green imageof the country produce, according to the secretary for rural affairs, food and environment.
This decision of a majority of European countries to apparently ignore their own experts may undermine any claim to the moral high ground at the coming Paris talks on climate change.
The worldwide scientific consensus on the safety of genetic engineering is as solid as that which underpins human-caused global warming.
Yet this inconvenient truth on G. M. O. s that theye as safe as conventionally cultivated food is ignored
when ideological interests are threatened. The scientific community is facing a new European reality. Last November, the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, chose not to reappoint Prof.
Anne Glover as his science adviser after lobbying by Greenpeace and other environmental groups. Never mind that Professor Glover advice on G. M. O. safety reflected the scientific consensus. Mr. Juncker,
hoping to make his political life easier, complied with their demand. Europe now has no chief scientific adviser.
In addition, the council is worried that Europe G. M. O. phobia may slam the door on new technologies.
For example the gene-editing tool known as Crispr is on the brink of revolutionizing the field of genetics internationally.
The historical irony is that Europe once led in biotech: In 1983, Marc Van Montagu and Jeff Schell at the University of Ghent in Belgium introduced the world to modern plant genetic engineering.
Today, however, no rational young scientist interested in molecular techniques of crop breeding would choose a base in Continental Europe.
Meanwhile, hypocrisy rules: Europe imports over 30 million tons per year of corn and soy-based animal feeds, the vast majority of which are modified genetically, for its livestock industry.
Imports are preferred to European crops partly because biotech traits make them cheaper. Yet these same traits such as herbicide tolerance and insect resistance are barred now widely from domestic use.
In essence, Europe has chosen chemistry over biology: It will not be able to reduce fungicide applications by adopting genetically modified blight-resistant potatoes;
nor can it cut down on insecticide sprays, since it won allow genetically modified insect-resistant crops to be grown.
The data is clear: One study found that G. M. O. cultivation has led to a 40 percent reduction in insecticide spraying worldwide.
Shielded from the winds of change behind a $50 billion wall of subsidies thanks to the European union Common agricultural policy, farmers in Europe can,
arguably, afford to lose their competitive edge. But a 2011 survey estimated that European farmersfailure to adopt G. M. crops had resulted in lost revenue of between 500 million and one billion euros per year.
A former British environment minister complained last year that Europe was becoming a useum of world farming. he new anti-G. M. O. policy aligns Europe with some unsavory allies.
Russia has proclaimed proudly a prohibition on G. M. O. crops. So has Zimbabwe where anti-Western conspiracy theories about biotech companies have become part of the ruling party ideology.
According to Tobaiwa Mudede, a crony of President Robert Mugabe, exual dysfunction is a huge problem in the U s a,
. where males become impotent around the age of 24, at the prime of lifewhich he linked to G. M. O. foods.
I have witnessed the effects of such propaganda myself. While giving a talk about G. M. O. s two years ago in rural Tanzania,
I was interrupted by an organic farmer who said he was determined never to grow biotech crops. His grounds?
That they turn his children homosexual. Following Europe lead, no country in Sub-saharan africa except South africa currently permits the cultivation of G. M. O. food crops.
Yet from drought tolerant maize to virus-resistant cassava, many biotech traits are being developed that could quickly improve the livelihoods of poorer African farmers.
I have spent time with malnourished children in Tanzania whose families were going hungry because cassava crops were wiped out by brown-streak disease.
That was particularly painful because in neighboring Uganda I had visited recently trial plots of genetically modified cassava that demonstrated complete resistance to the virus. The faces of the hungry children come to mind every time I hear European politicians boast about their country G. M. O. ban
and demand that the rest of the world follow suit as Scotland minister did in August.
Thanks to Europe Coalition of the Ignorant, we are witnessing a historic injustice perpetrated by the well fed on the food insecure.
Europe stance, if taken up internationally, risks marginalizing a critically important technology that we must surely employ
if humanity is feed to itself sustainably in an increasingly difficult and challenging future. I can only hope that the Continent policy makers come to their senses before it is too late e
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