GENET news: Animal

09.10.2008

Dolly designer moves beyond cloning

South Koreans have touted their sophistication in cloning technology, but it remains to be seen whether recent innovations in science would render their skills irrelevant. Ian Wilmut, the Scottish gene scientist who created Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, made headlines last year when he declared he was abandoning cloning and switching to a new method that involves genetically modifying adult cells to behave like stem cells. The alternative technology, pioneered by the likes of Kyoto University scientist Shinya Yamanaka, has allowed researchers to create stem cells from fragments of skin, thus removing the need to use human embryos.

09.10.2008

Europeans reject animal cloning for food: survey

Most Europeans have reservations about cloning animals for food, while 67 percent see cloning as justified if used to preserve rare animal species, a survey that could help forge EU policy in the area showed on Thursday. The Eurobarometer poll said 84 percent of Europeans feel the long-term effects of cloning are unknown, 58 percent see animal cloning for food production as unjustified, and 28 percent would accept animal cloning for food production in some circumstances.

08.10.2008

Ecuador declared free of GE crops by new constitution

Jaguars, spectacled bears, brown-headed spider monkeys, and plate-billed mountain toucans may all just breathe a little easier next week if Ecuadorians approve a new constitution in a referendum on Sunday that would grant these threatened animals’ habitats with inalienable rights. The new constitution gives nature the ”right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution” and mandates that the government take ”precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent alteration of the natural cycles.”

06.10.2008

Monsanto completes sale of rBST for $300M

Monsanto Co. said Thursday it has completed its $300 million sale of its Posilac cow growth hormone brand to drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. Posilac is an FDA-approved animal pharmaceutical used by U.S. dairy farmers to increase productivity. Posilac has never been a big part of Monsanto’s future growth plans, but the genetically engineered hormone has gotten significant attention because of concerns about its effect on human health.

30.09.2008

Cloned monkeys born in China

CHINESE scientists have bred the country’s first testtube monkeys, in the first step toward breeding genetically engineered monkeys for scientific research. Dr Sun Qiang of the Shanghai-based East China Normal University led the primate research group to create the seven macaques, a type of monkey fond of eating crabs. [...] ”Our next step is to bring about more test-tube monkeys and eventually make genemodified monkeys to benefit medical research,” Dr Sun said.

30.09.2008

New Zealand’s Government covers up GE animal suffering

The Government is covering up animal welfare and other concerns about AgResearch’s genetic engineering facility at Ruakura by refusing to answer any parliamentary questions about the research, says Greens Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons. Research, Science and Technology Minister Pete Hodgson has declined to answer a raft of written parliamentary questions; for example, ”How many genetically modified deformed foetuses have been created by AgResearch in the past eight years?”, ”How does AgResearch quantify ’long-term’ in its press release of September 4, 2008 ’long term suffering to the mother’ and ’long-term suffering to the recipient is highly unlikely’?” and ”How many genetically modified calves suffering from respiratory conditions have been created by AgResearch in the past eight years?”

30.09.2008

Scientists create GE pigs with cystic fibrosis in search for life-saving new treatments

Pigs have been bred with cystic fibrosis, providing scientists with a powerful animal model that will aid the development of new treatments for the incurable condition. The creation of the pigs, using genetic engineering and cloning technologies, removes one of the biggest barriers to research into cystic fibrosis. While mice and other animals have previously been modified with the genetic mutation that causes the inherited disorder, they do not develop the same symptoms as humans and are thus useless for most experiments.

29.09.2008

GE crops ”no cure-all” for food insecurity

Biotechnology is no panacea to the food insecurity and poverty problems in Africa and other developing countries, warned scientists at the first All Africa Congress on Biotechnology [...] ”This is no silver bullet to the food insecurity in Africa and the rest of the developing world, but it must be looked at as one of the most important tools that will contribute to increased food production and thus, poverty reduction,” said Clive James, chairman of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications. [...] James added that ensuring adequate food production for Africa will come out of a package that includes other components like population stabilisation and fair food distribution systems.

26.09.2008

Australia must start GE animal and flower commercialisation

Australian farmers have urged authorities to consider the use of genetically modified animals for meat, milk and fish after US authorities this week unveiled guidelines to regulate the controversial technology. [...] Sheep Meat Council of Australia president Chris Groves said while the practical application of the technology for livestock was ”a long way off”, it would be rash to disregard the technology because of ill-founded fears. He said any decisions on GM foods needed to be based on ”sound science, not on somebody’s scare campaign”.

26.09.2008

Disgraced South Korean scientist to get cloning patent

Australian officials are expected to grant a patent this week to a disgraced South Korean scientist for his disputed technology on cloning human embryos, a move that his supporters say would vindicate his work. Hwang Woo-suk’s purported breakthroughs in cloning stem cells raised hopes for developing cures to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, but they were deemed fraudulent in 2005 when a key paper on the technology was found to have fake data. He continued to insist that his technology worked, and his team later applied for patents in some 10 countries.

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