| India: GM mustard yield lower than non-GM Contrary to the central government's stand on making India self-sufficient in edible oil production through rapid cultivation of the controversial GM mustard variety, the government’s own study shows that the GM crop has no yield benefits over traditional hybrid varieties. The documents also reveal that the government neither tested the impact of GM mustard on honey bees and other pollinators, nor did it have any expert in its committee to assess the crop’s fallout on health. The central government on Thursday submitted documents related to field trials of GM mustard seeds — Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 or DMH-11 — to the Supreme Court. The report shows that the yield of a non-GM hybrid variety is actually marginally higher than the GM one. New Indian Express Detection of new GMOs – possible and necessary for transparency and public trust The European Commission’s proposals for the regulation of new genetically modified organisms (products of new genomic techniques or NGTs) state that detection of these GMOs may be challenging or impossible. The Commission uses this as a reason to remove them from the requirements of the current GMO legislation – which include risk assessment, traceability, and labelling. However, this is misleading. Detection of new GMOs is possible, given prior knowledge of the relevant genetic sequence and reference materials, which can – and should – be demanded from the developer as a condition of their approval. Even without such prior knowledge, detection may be possible. GMWatch and Beyond GM have published a new briefing on this crucial topic. GMWatch and Beyond GM Farmers, green groups demonstrate against proposed GMO legislation Members of various agricultural and environmental organisations converged on Thursday at Luxembourg Square, Brussels, to rally against a proposed European regulation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The demonstration was spearheaded by Demeter VZW, a group that promotes biodynamic farming. “Agro-industry wants to take away our freedom to grow our seeds,” the group charged. It accused the EU of conducting an intense lobbying campaign to enact legislation allowing GMOs, gene technologies and New Breeding Techniques (NBT) in agriculture and the food chain. Besides Demeter, the protest was also backed by groups such as Food Otherwise, Farmers Forum, VELT, Vital Breeds, and BioForum VZW. Brussels Times When AI bots do genetic engineering: Text-to-organism platforms, the engineered protein explosion and AI biopiracy Since the release of "generative AI" program ChatGPT over a year ago, the ability of Artificial Intelligence bots to make art, video, animation, journalism, legal documents has upturned a slew of industries, driving strikes, lawsuits and major public anxiety about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Now the next generation of AI bots are engaging in genetic engineering. Just as you can now type text into an AI to autogenerate pictures or essays, tech companies such as Nvidia, Salesforceare and Gingko Bioworks are working on "text-to-organism" generation of proteins and lifeforms through the convergence of generative AI with synthetic biology. Their first target: unleashing a whole new industry of AI generated bioengineered "Alt-proteins". Jim Thomas of scanthehorizon.org breaks down some implications in the first of 2 essays on "DNAI: The Artificial Intelligence / Artificial Life convergence. Part 1: When AI bots do genetic engineering". Scan the Horizon CRISPR’s unintended cuts: Alarming findings in cancer gene therapy New research reveals that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can unintentionally lead cancer cells to remove crucial genes, impacting cancer research and treatment strategies. A new study by Claudia Kutter’s research group at the Department of Microbiology, Tumour and Cell Biology (MTC) has identified potential pitfalls in the use of the gene editing technique CRISPR-Cas9, a gene scissors that is used for cancer treatments. The study has identified that a cancer cell line, derived from leukemia, removes a region that encodes a tumour-suppressing gene and genes that control cell growth. “We found that this elimination often occurs when cancer cells are exposed to stress, such as when using CRISPR gene scissors, or other treatments such as antibiotics. The elimination changes gene regulation in a unique way, which in turn affects basic biological processes such as DNA replication, cell cycle regulation, and DNA repair,” says Claudia Kutter, research group leader at MTC, Karolinska Institutet. SciTech Daily Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup, is showing up in pregnant women living near farm fields – that raises health concerns Living near farmland can significantly increase people’s exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the widely used herbicide Roundup, new research shows. This chemical has been connected to health concerns, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a higher risk of preterm birth. In the research study, scientists tracked glyphosate levels in pregnant women for 10 months. They found that those who were living within about a third of a mile (500 meters) of an agricultural field had significantly higher levels of glyphosate in their urine than those who lived farther away. Importantly, they only saw those differences during the time of year when farmers spray glyphosate on their fields, further suggesting agricultural spray as the source of this exposure. They also found that eating organic food could reduce glyphosate levels in women living far from farm fields – but not in women who lived near farm fields. The Conversation We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible by readers’ donations. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. 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