Genetics & Molecular Biology

Not All Science Is Created Equal: The Story Of Genetically Engineered Crops

By Robert Wager, Genetic Literacy Project There is tremendous controversy about genetically modified (GM) crops and derived food. Even the definition of what is a GM crop can differ depending upon with whom you talk. From a strictly scientific perspective ...

Article - Genetic Literacy ... - Oct 29 2014 - 11:16am

Greenpeace Says Its GMOs Are Better Than Science's GMOs, Still Hates Golden Rice

Greenpeace is set to launch a series of attacks against crop biotechnology this week. It has scheduled a news conference for Friday titled “Ecological Agriculture, A Climate Resilient Model of Agriculture: The Way Forward,” which purportedly makes  its ca ...

Article - Jon Entine - Oct 30 2014 - 10:20am

Mini Human Stomach Created In The Lab- Using Adult Stem Cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) became the target of researchers a decade ago due to restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). While media reports were claiming biology was dead if President Bush didn't violate Pr ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 29 2014 - 5:17pm

Cytokinesis Lite: Cellular Division, Now With No Cells!

Cell division is central to life and the last stage, when two daughter cells split from each other, has fascinated scientists since the dawn of cellular biology. The name given to this process by those early biologists, cytokinesis, translates as "ce ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 31 2014 - 2:04pm

Designer Babies: Screening For Intelligence Is A Long Way Off

Credit: SAN_DRINO/Flickr By Meredith Knight, Genetic Literacy Project Melinda developed breast cancer early in life, age 29. She tested positive for BRCA1, a gene that increases the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancers significantly. So, after her ...

Article - Genetic Literacy ... - Nov 3 2014 - 2:46pm

Epigenetics Study- Effects Of Poor Eating Habits Stick Around, Even With A Better Diet

Improve your eating habits and will improve your health, common medical wisdom goes. A new article in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology finds that we might as well keep eating poorly. They contend that the effects of poor eating habits persist after dietar ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 3 2014 - 10:13am

Nature Loves Genetic Modification

There is concern about pollution, overfishing and even climate change when it comes to reduced wild fish populations. Farmed fish is the obvious solution but critics have a response for that also- they contend that hatchery-raised fish won't be as wel ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 4 2014 - 10:55am

Oops, Just Lab Contamination: GMO Genes Do Not Pass From Food Into Blood

In 2013, when PLoS One published a research paper, Complete Genes May Pass from Food to Human Blood, anti-GMO activists claimed they had proof that GMOs can “transfer” into our bodies, and threaten human health. Now it turns out the hysteria they tried to ...

Article - Jon Entine - Nov 4 2014 - 12:06pm

The Identity Of Jack The Ripper Remains A Mystery

Dalibor Levíček, CC BY-NC-SA By Mick Reed, University of New England The Jack the Ripper murders are the most potent cold case ever. More than a century on from the first killing in 1888 they are still attracting global attention. ...

Article - The Conversation - Nov 5 2014 - 3:28pm

Genetic Markers For Alcoholism Recovery

A team of scholars say genetic markers that may help in identifying individuals who could benefit from the alcoholism treatment drug acamprosate- patients carrying these genetic variants have longer periods of abstinence during the first three months of ac ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 5 2014 - 12:51am