Tag: gmo

‘Gene Scissors’ Technology Causes Unintended Changes in Chromosomes

A recently published study in Nature Genetics shows that the use of CRISPR/Cas “gene scissors” causes unintended genetic changes that are different from random mutations.

According to the study, major structural changes in chromosomes occur much more frequently in the genomic regions targeted by the “gene scissors” than would otherwise be the case.

These results also have implications for the risk assessment of plants obtained from new genetic engineering, TestBiotech reported.

According to the European Union Commission and the European Food Safety Authority, unintentional genetic changes resulting from the use of CRISPR/Cas “gene scissors” are no different from random mutations.

However, a new method of data evaluation shows that this assumption is wrong.

The use of CRISPR/Cas completely interrupts the double DNA strand, thus causing some of the chromosomes to be temporarily separated from the main section.

In the separated (distal) section, the chromosomes can restructure and larger sequences of DNA can be lost (deletions), reversed (inversions) or inserted in the wrong place (insertions).

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All Things Bugs: Bill Gates, U.S. Military Among Investors in GMO Insect Protein for Humans

While regulators in non-U.S. countries, including Singapore, have issued approvals for specific insect-based foods, in the U.S., the regulatory landscape is murkier — there is no legal approval process or clear-cut prohibition of insects for human consumption.

As a result, insect-containing foods have reached U.S. consumers, even though one of the few existing U.S. laws that address insects in the food supply refers to them as “filth” and a form of “adulteration.”

Crickets and grasshoppers reach U.S. consumers in a variety of forms, from protein bars to protein shakes. They’re also found on restaurant menus and are promoted as pet food and animal feed ingredients.

With few U.S. regulatory barriers to contend with, investors like Bill Gates and Big Food giants such as Tyson Foods have also begun investing in “alternative protein” startups — despite mainstream media “fact-checks” claiming Gates doesn’t support the consumption of insects.

Internist Dr. Meryl Nass, founder of Door to Freedom, told The Defender lax U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations — under which many insect-containing foods can be classified as “Generally Regarded as Safe” (GRAS) — “means they don’t require testing” and enable the FDA to “look the other way.”

“How long will it take before we learn whether these foods are safe? It could take generations,” Nass said.

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Scientists Used CRISPR Gene Editing to Make Chickens Resist Bird Flu — Here’s What Happened

Scientists who used the gene-editing technology CRISPR to create chickens resistant to avian influenza also showed how quickly a dangerous bird flu could mutate from laboratory chickens to humans, critics of a new study in the journal Nature Communications told The Defender.

The authors of the study, led by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, altered the genetic code of 10 chickens to make them resistant to a bird-flu virus and then exposed them to the virus.

They also included 10 chickens in the study that were not genetically altered. All 10 chickens not genetically altered got sick when they were exposed to the virus. Only one of the genetically altered chickens got sick with the bird flu.

Altering a species’ DNA “promises a new way to make permanent changes in the disease resistance of an animal,” University of Edinburgh embryologist Mike McGrew, Ph.D., an author of the study, said at an Oct. 5 news briefing announcing the peer-reviewed research.

“This can be passed down through all the gene-edited animals, to all the offspring.”

According to the study, “Chickens genetically resistant to avian influenza could prevent future outbreaks. … Breeding for resistance and resilience to disease has significant potential in farmed poultry,” freeing farmers from routinely having to vaccinate birds.

But Jonathan Latham, executive director of the Bioscience Resource Project, who has a master’s degree in crop genetics and a Ph.D. in virology, told The Defender,

“The experiments were ultimately a failure of ‘the operation was a success but the patient died’ variety.”

When the 10 genetically altered chickens were exposed to a much higher dose of bird flu — more in line with what the chickens could be exposed to in nature or a factory farm setting — five of the 10 chickens developed the flu.

Virus samples collected from the infected, genetically altered birds showed the virus had made several mutations that seemed to allow it to bind to the ANP32A protein to replicate in the chickens, the study reported.

The virus also mutated a workaround to bind to two other related proteins for replication.

Worse yet, according to Latham, mutations also helped the virus replicate more efficiently in human cells.

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Chinese scientists create 90% lethal Ebola-like virus to study eye disorders

Chinese scientists have genetically modified a virus that imitates Ebola infection. This virus has caused severe eye ulcers and ultimately wiped out an entire group of hamsters.

Researchers are hopeful that this study will aid in the research of Ebola-related eye disorders.

In this study, vesicular stomatitis, typically found in livestock, was harboring the Ebola virus. When they gave it to the hamsters, the entire group died after the ulcers in their eyes worsened.

New model reveals promising insights into Ebola virus research

Vesicular stomatitis (VSV), carries a part of the Ebola virus called glycoprotein (GP). It helps the virus to enter and infect the cells. Five female and five male hamsters that were up to three weeks old died within three days.

They showed symptoms similar to those in Ebola patients, such as weight loss, multi-organ failure, severe eye inflammation, and ulcers. Additionally, the hamsters had high levels of the virus in their bodies.

Scientists are optimistic that this new model could help in future research on Ebola-related eye disorders. “All animals died within 2-3 days after infection,” the researchers observed, noting that this model could be useful for testing Ebola vaccines.

According to the scientists, this model allowed for quick preclinical testing of Ebola virus countermeasures in BSL-2 conditions.

They added, “This surrogate model is a safe, effective, and cost-efficient tool for rapid preclinical evaluation of medical countermeasures against the Ebola virus under BSL-2 conditions. It has the potential to accelerate technological advances and breakthroughs in combating Ebola virus disease.”

More accessible to researchers for studying

The Ebola virus causes internal bleeding and tissue damage and is spread by direct contact with infected body fluids, such as blood or sweat, or by touching contaminated objects. This is significant because studying Ebola requires expensive and high-level biological security, like that in BSL-4 facilities.

As a result, the virus has been less accessible to scientists. According to the scientists, the development of countermeasures against EBOV has been hindered by the lack of ideal animal models. The reason was that EBOV requires handling in BSL-4 facilities.

In the study, they also analyzed the influence of the virus. They found that the virus had accumulated in critical tissues. Like for example the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, and brain. As the study showed, the highest viral loads were found in the liver, and the lowest levels were found in the brain.

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The effects of mRNA injections editing our genes could be devastating to our humanity

Professor Michael Plank of Covid-19 Aotearoa Modelling and Te Punaha Matatini Centre for Complex Systems and Networks is a mathematical biologist and epidemiologist commissioned by the New Zealand government to deliver mathematical modelling of covid-19 in support of the pandemic response.

[Yesterday], he advised us all to roll the genetic dice one more time and get another covid-19 mRNA vaccine to avoid winter illness. Is he up to date on the risks for the individual and humanity? Let’s find out.

A team of doctors at the authoritative Harvard Medical School is offering us another opinion in the journal The Neurohospitalist under the title ‘Fatal Post Covid mRNA-Vaccine Associated Cerebral Ischemia’. The study discusses a case of a thirty-year-old female recipient of the Moderna mRNA covid injection who subsequently developed circulatory and inflammatory problems in her brain followed by a fatal stroke.

The authors conclude: “The side effects of covid-19 infection and vaccination are still incompletely understood … clinicians should be aware of presentations like this one.”

Individual Risks are Growing with Each Vaccine

As we pointed out in our last article, the medical authorities really don’t know what is causing a surge in winter illness coming on top of our already overwhelmed hospital system. In an interview with Jamie Morton of the New Zealand Herald, Professor Plank references new so-called “FLiRT variants” of the JN.1 covid strain. Rather than pressing the fear button and urging one more throw of the covid-19 vaccine dice, Professor Plank might have drawn upon a couple of principles from Virology 101.

At this point in the pandemic, the biggest drivers of covid variation are actually covid-19 vaccines. The more covid vaccines, the more covid variants. Variants are running into uncountable millions. Among them, covid variants that evade covid-19 vaccines are set to flourish and spread.

Secondly, as we have referenced previously, repeated doses of covid vaccines cause Vaccine Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (“VAIDS”).

Thirdly, as is now admitted in the scientific literature, the more mRNA covid-19 vaccine doses you have, the more exposed you become to serious risks, including heart disease, stroke and cancer.

We reported just days ago that prominent vaccine advocate Dr. Vinay Prasad is now suggesting that the evidence shows the risk of serious illness following mRNA covid vaccination outweighs any potential benefit.

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World’s first transgenic cow can produce human insulin in her milk

Diabetes happens when the body doesn’t have enough insulin, also called Type 1 diabetes, where the body’s own immune system damages cells in our body’s insulin-making machine called the pancreas.

Diabetes can also happen when the body gets insulin but doesn’t know how to use this insulin properly. This is called Type 2 diabetes, where the body becomes resistant to insulin, and the pancreas can’t make enough to keep up.

Both lead to high blood sugar levels

Although scientists have found ways to make insulin using different methods, such as E coli and yeast, researchers at the University of Illinois aim to make insulin in cow’s milk.

This is because they produce much milk, and milk is an everyday product in most homes. 

The researchers explain in their paper that they used special techniques to put human insulin genes into cow cells so that the cows produce milk containing human insulin. This milk can, in turn, make insulin for people.

“Mother Nature designed the mammary gland as a factory to make protein really, really efficiently. We can take advantage of that system to produce a protein that can help hundreds of millions of people worldwide,” said Matt Wheeler, professor of biotechnology and developmental biology at the University of Illinois and co-author of the study.

Wheeler and his team used somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which was previously used to create transgenic animals, like sheep, cows, and pigs, that can produce specific proteins, like insulin. 

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Greenpeace Crusade Will Blind and Kill Children

Greenpeace and other anti-biotech activist groups have logged a win in a crusade that could ultimately blind and kill thousands of children annually. How? By persuading the Court of Appeals of the Philippines to issue a scientifically ignorant and morally hideous decision to ban the planting of vitamin A–enriched golden rice. The objective result will be more children blinded and killed by vitamin A deficiency.

The World Health Organization estimates that 250,000–500,000 children who are vitamin A–deficient become blind every year, and half of them die within 12 months of losing their sight. In addition, children with immune systems weakened by vitamin A deficiency have an increased risk of illness and death from infectious diseases.

The court also banned the planting of an eggplant variety that has been biotech-enhanced to resist insect pests. The same variety approved by Bangladeshi regulators has reduced pesticide usage and improved farmers’ yields by more than 50 percent.

In their press release, Greenpeace activists crowed, “The Court of Appeals has essentially put a moratorium on these genetically modified crops.”

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COMPANY CLAIMS ITS ‘DIRECTED EVOLUTION’ MICROBIOME-ENHANCED PLANTS LITERALLY EAT POLLUTION FOR BREAKFAST

Bioengineering R&D company Neoplants says its ‘directed evolution’ houseplants can clean the air inside your home 30 times more efficiently than an ordinary houseplant. This is due to genetically engineered bacteria that convert some of the most common and dangerous indoor air pollutants, known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), into biodegradable components like sugar that the plant ultimately consumes as food.

This means harmful pollutants Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene, which can reach as much as five times (or even up to 100 times) the concentration indoors as they do outdoors, are not only filtered out of the air, but their breakdown products are used to feed the plant itself, thereby “turning a harmful and commonly found chemical in your home into a healthy source of fuel for the plant.”

“It harnesses the power of nature to purify indoor air from 3 of the most carcinogenic pollutants we find in every home, up to 30 times better than any regular houseplant,” explained Lio Mora, Neoplants CEO, and co-founder, in an email to The Debrief.

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US company hoping to bring back the dodo and the mammoth – but here’s why it won’t be like Jurassic Park

The idea of scientists bringing pre-historic creatures back to life with some clever DNA trickery might sound familiar to fans of the 1993 Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic Park.

But for Colossal Biosciences – a company that hopes to reintroduce extinct species such as the dodo and the mammoth – it is more than just a film script.

It’s a reality – and one that could be just years away.

“We’ve got all the technology we need,” says Ben Lamm, chief executive of the firm, based in Dallas, Texas.

“It is just a focus of time and funding. But we are 100% confident [we can bring back] the Tasmanian tiger, the dodo, and the mammoth.”

The science behind the project is simple: Work out the genes that make an extinct animal what it is, and then replicate those genes using the DNA of a close existing relative.

“It’s almost reverse Jurassic Park,” says Mr Lamm, speaking to Sky News.

“In the film, they were filling in the holes in the dinosaur DNA with frog DNA.

“We are leveraging artificial intelligence and other tools to identify the core genes that make a mammoth a mammoth and then engineering them into elephant genomes.”

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Scientists Put Tardigrade Proteins Into Human Cells. Here’s What Happened.

Freeze ’em, heat ’em, blast them into empty space; with survival skills unlike any other organism on the planet, those hardy critters known as tardigrades will only come back for more.

While it’s clear their ability to withstand stress is in part due to their ability to turn their insides into gel, the mechanisms behind this act of metabolic preservation haven’t yet been made clear.

A new study led by researchers from the University of Wyoming found that expressing key tardigrade proteins in human cells slowed metabolism, providing critical insights into how these virtually indestructible invertebrates can survive under the most extreme conditions.

The team focused on a particular protein called CAHS D, already known to protect against extreme drying (desiccation). Through a variety of methods, the researchers showed how CAHS D transformed into a gel-like state when under stress, keeping molecules protected and protecting against drying.

“This study provides insight into how tardigrades, and potentially other desiccation-tolerant organisms, survive drying by making use of biomolecular condensation,” write the researchers in their published paper.

“Beyond stress tolerance, our findings provide an avenue for pursuing technologies centered around the induction of biostasis in cells and even whole organisms to slow aging and enhance storage and stability.”

Tardigrades have already shown they can survive hot and cold temperatures and high levels of radiation that would be fatal to human beings, and long periods without any water – normally so essential to life. They can even survive in space.

Previous research has revealed an impressive number of tricks that tardigrades use to stay alive, built up over hundreds of millions of years. Essentially, they’re very good at slowing the processes of life right down with the help of CAHS D, and that could be useful in human cells too.

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