| | 24/February/20
| | Yet more problems with CRISPR – with consequences for food safety Adding to the list of problems that can occur with CRISPR, a new study shows that when the CRISPR/Cas system was used in an SDN-2 ("gene modification") gene editing procedure aimed at engineering insertion of genetic material in mice, a high frequency was found of insertions of multiple copies of the DNA molecules used as a template for bringing about the desired gene modifications. The researchers were concerned by the fact that the insertions could not be detected using standard PCR analysis. This in turn led to what they called "a high rate of falsely claimed precisely edited alleles" (gene variants). In other words, scientists have been unduly hyping the precision of CRISPR when in reality it isn't precise at all. (Note: GMWatch has updated its list of scientific studies supporting the need to subject gene-edited plants to strict safety assessments with this study.) GMWatch Big mistakes by developers of “poster child” GMO products mean FDA is justified in demanding regulation Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its analysis of what has been touted as the “Poster Child” of gene-edited animals: cattle genetically engineered to prevent them from developing horns. The FDA scientists detected “previously unreported, unintended alterations in [the] genome-edited bulls". Dr Belinda Martineau, developer of the first GMO designed for eating, the Flavr Savr tomato, says blunders with the gene-edited cattle, as well as GMO golden rice, show that scientists and regulators must be alert to the potential for unintended alterations; and they also show that the FDA is justified in demanding regulation of gene-edited animals. Biotech Salon Australia the next legal battleground over claims Monsanto weedkiller Roundup causes cancer As tens of thousands of cases against the makers of the weedkiller Roundup mount up in the United States, a class action is about to test the product's standing in Australia. John Fenton is getting ready to take on the world's largest agricultural chemical company, Monsanto. The 57-year-old from Robe in South Australia is in remission after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 2008. MSN DONATE TO GMWATCH __________________________________________________________ Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
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