Mom: you owe your kids “yes” on 37

My stance, as a mother, is clear: I will do everything in my power to avoid subjecting my baby boy to the worldwide experiment that is conducted by the industrial food industry. Its results may not become clear and apparent for another generation—it may be too late, and I’m not keen to find out.

View the original article here: GMO: why you owe your kids a Yes vote on Prop. 37

Feeding GM tomato to mice mimics effects of “good” cholesterol

At the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2012, a study showed that genetically engineered tomato plants produced a peptide that mimics the actions of good cholesterol when eaten. In the study, mice that ate the freeze-dried, ground tomatoes had less inflammation and reduced atherosclerosis, plaque build-up in the arteries.

View the original article here: Peptide In Genetically Engineered Mice Mimics ‘Good’ Cholesterol

Biologists urge “no” on 37

A group of eight biology professors from throughout the site asked to weigh in on the state proposition that would label genetically modified food overwhelmingly urged a ‘no’ vote for the measure.

Proposition 37, which is on the ballot on Tuesday [today], would make California the first state in the union to require that certain plant or animal products sold be labeled if its genetic material has been modified. The law would also make it illegal for food companies to label genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, as “natural.”

View the original article here: Survey: Biologists Say ‘No’ on GMO Labels Proposition 37 

Prop 37 to be decided by dollars, not debate

The role of outside money in the fight against Proposition 37 has become a case study of how public policy in California evolves by dollars, not debate.

Whatever your opinion is on Proposition 37, the attempt at requiring companies operating in California to provide labels if their foods contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms), one issue is clear: California’s ballot initiative process is in desperate need of reform.

View the original article here: Near Death of Proposition 37 Proves California’s Initiative Process Needs Reform

Why is synthetic biology important?

In Regenesis the authors ask, “What should we do?” How can we balance economic growth and a sustainable environment? How can we outsmart viruses? In an attempt to answer these questions, Church and Regis argue that synthetic biology is an industrial revolution with the potential to change life as we know it and discuss its possibilities. Among these exciting possibilities are creating novel materials and biofuels, and providing a better understanding of evolution and complex diseases leading to new drugs and vaccines.

For me, reading Regenesis raised several questions. In order to better understand the barriers scientists face in their research, I posed these questions to George Church, author and Harvard Medical School Geneticist.

View the original article here: Why is synthetic biology important?

Cloned horses create controversy in thoroughbred industry

There’s no horsing around around at Viagen, a company in Austin, Texas that clones living animals, including horses. People are paying top dollar for foals, who are not bred on the farm but instead inside of a lab.

Despite technological advancements, many in the thoroughbred industry are more concerned with upholding tradition.

View the original article here: Cloning horses creates mixed emotions for thoroughbred industry

Brazil aims to clone jaguars, maned wolves, other endangered species

Brazilian scientists are attempting to clone animals in danger of extinction, like the jaguar and maned wolf, although the potential impact on the conservation of these threatened species is still not clear. The cloning initiative is being undertaken by the Brasilia Zoological Garden in partnership with the Brazilian government’s agricultural research agency, EMBRAPA, and is now in its second phase. The research is aimed at adapting cloning techniques to wild animal species as a means of contributing to conservation.

View the original article here: Brazil Embarks On Cloning Of Wild Animals

Green movement sees Prop 37 as battle against “Big Food”

The green movement’s worldview today is the same as it was in 1970: Nature is sacred, big business is the enemy, technology is dangerous, the world is on the verge of eco-collapse. The ecologist Barry Commoner, who recently died at the age of 95, was perhaps the most influential apostle for this mindset. He argued in the early 1970s that the “circle of life,” in which “nature knows best,” had been broken by a technology-based society that had put the planet on the brink of ecological suicide. This outdated, unhelpful perspective reverberates in many offshoots of the environmentalism of 40 years ago, not just the food movement.

View the original article here: Eating genetically modified food is safer than taking a shower

Stem cells from strangers can repair hearts

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LOS ANGELES — Researchers are reporting a key advance in using stem cells to repair hearts damaged by heart attacks. In a study, stem cells donated by strangers proved as safe and effective as patients’ own cells for helping restore heart tissue.

View the original article here: Stem cells from strangers can help fix hearts, study finds; shows cell banking may be feasible

Examining the human health implications of GM-labeling debate

“It’s really a value-laden decision. How do you act in the face of scientific uncertainty?” said Patrice Sutton, MPH, a researcher with UCSF’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE), which works through research, clinical care and public policy to prevent exposures of harmful chemicals in the environment. “From a public health perspective, there’s a general principle that you would have people be able to decide for themselves.”

Robert Gould, MD, an associate adjunct professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and PRHE’s director of health professional outreach, was a delegate to the California Medical Association’s (CMA) annual meeting last month, at which they renewed a 2002 policy supporting the labeling of GMO foods. The American Public Health Association, the nation’s largest organization of public health professionals, also endorses GMO labeling.

View the original article here: Genetically Modified Food Labeling Through the Lens of Public Health

What does Prop 37 actually say?

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Unfortunately, as with any political debate these days, there’s a lot of mud slinging and less than accurate information coming from both supporters and opponents of proposition 37. This post is not about that. If you’d like to talk about that, you’re welcome to submit a guest post or start a topic in the forum. This post is about what proposition 37 actually says.

View the original article here: What does Prop 37 actually say?

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