Biotechnology and Developing Countries
Thursday, November 25th, 2010
In a well presented post, Greg Odogwu from Abuja, Nigeria, looks at the biotechnology scene and its significance for developing countries like Nigeria.
As he says, biotechnology has been around for a long time as in the making of cheese, wine and beer. Its modern applications include production of vaccines, insulin and the currently controversial genetically modified crops. The latter has become controversial owing to such products as the terminator seeds that can make farmers dependent on seeds from the market (instead of using part of the last crop as seeds).
While GM crops have become controversial, it is generally agreed that using existing practices, the world cannot provide food for its growing population. Eradicating hunger would need improved agricultural practices in developing countries. Crops like cassava that are consumed by the poor can benefit from biotechnology.
In addition to agriculture, healthcare is also benefiting from modern biotechnology. In addition to producing substances like human insulin and human growth hormone, it is theoretically possible to treat hereditary diseases through genetic engineering by working with the genes that make one prone to the disease.
The author of the blog wonders whether Nigeria is missing the biotechnology revolution. Read the blog post at the Daily Independent.
Tags: biotechnology, crop science, genetic engineering, GM crops, healthcare
Posted in biotechnology, crop science, diseases, genetic modification | No Comments »
Cereal Biotechnology
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
Cereals like wheat, maize and rice account for more than half the world’s food, and provide the bulk of basic human nutrition, directly and also indirectly as animal fodder. The demand for cereals will rise as:
* Population increases owing to better control over diseases and elimination of major conflicts like world wars, and
* Increasing prosperity leads to higher demand for food from people who could earlier afford only the bare minimum.
It is considered impossible to meet the growing demand with current methods of growing food. Modern biotechnology can help increase the supply of cereals through:
* Improving the effectiveness of traditional breeding programs by using molecular markers
* Increasing yields from existing fields through genetic modification, and
* Developing genetically modified crops that can be cultivated in regions presently inhospitable for cereal cultivation.
To achieve the above goals, however, better interactions are required between molecular biologists and industry managers. Legislative issues and public perceptions of GM crops also need to be addressed for achieving the goals.
The downloadable Cereal Biotechnology e-book goes into these details. The discussion in the book is clear and focused, and will help even non-specialists to gain an understanding of the issues involved.
The book is available for download at RapidShare.com.
Tags: biotechnology, crop science, genetic modification, traditional breeding
Posted in biotechnology, crop science, genetic modification | 2 Comments »
Biotechnology Applications in the Textile Industry
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Biotechnology improves crops by tailoring their properties or transferring properties from one organism to another. Both these processes involve working with the organisms’ genes (that determine genetic characteristics), made possible by advances in genetic engineering.
Genetic engineering has already benefited the textile industry and promises much more. For example, cotton, which is the leading fiber used by the textile industry, is vulnerable to attacks by many insects. Cotton also has poor tolerance against herbicides used to kill weeds in irrigated cotton fields. By working with the genes of the crop, scientists are hoping to develop insect and herbicide resistant varieties of cotton.
Another objective is to develop cotton varieties that will be naturally colored, say blue or vivid red, so that bleaching and dyeing of textiles can be eliminated. Research is also going on to provide other desirable properties at a genetic level.
In Australia, sheep is being “engineered” to secrete an insect repellant from its hair follicles to resist attacks from blowfly, and also stop hair growth so that wool can be “pulled off” instead of being sheared. Shearing wool from sheep is a cumbersome and time-consuming process.
Biotechnology is helping not only such genetic engineering results but is also helping in disease diagnostics and new forms of therapy, for example.
Read the great post on biotechnology applications in textile industry at The World of Snark.
Tags: biotechnology, crop science, genetic engineering, GM crops
Posted in biotechnology, crop science, genetic modification | No Comments »
Biotech Research for Increased Sugar from Sugarcane
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Bayer CropScience and the CTC, the Center for Sugarcane Technology, São Paulo, Brazil, are planning to cooperate in research to develop biotech sugarcane varieties. Early research indicates the possibility of obtaining 30 to 40 percent higher amounts of sugar from the new varieties. The products are expected to be submitted for regulatory approval by 2015.
CTC hopes to tap the biotech expertise of Bayer for extending the traits of sugarcane while Bayer will be expanding its plant technology activities to cover sugarcane. Brazil produces about 40 percent of world’s sugar output. Sugarcane yields not only sugar, but also ethanol and energy.
Bayer is already familiar with sugarcane, having been providing products and solutions to this segment for 30 years. The company is now targeting significant productivity increases for the ethanol industry. CTC’s research extends from sugarcane-breeding to industrial processing.
According to Joachim Schneider, Head of the Business Operations Unit BioScience at Bayer CropScience, sugarcane is the most productive crop for economically viable renewable energy with the best CO2 balance. CTC hopes to leverage this advantage and add more value to the sugarcane production and processing chain, and enhance its competitiveness in this segment.
Read more at Bayer CropScience press release.
Tags: biotechnology, crop science, sugar yield, sugarcane
Posted in biotechnology, crop science | No Comments »
The Second Green Revolution will Need GM Technology
Saturday, April 24th, 2010
In the article titled How Science Could Spark a Second Green Revolution, the author reports that a Pennsylvania State University professor and his colleagues have been working to develop crops with longer roots. Growing steeper and deeper into the ground, these roots will be able to find more moisture and nutrients.
According to the report, the team has been able to identify root traits that can produce “two or three times more food without fertilizer.” The professor, Jonathan Lynch, uses traditional cross-breeding techniques, and has also identified an unrecognized trait in corn that can improve yields eightfold in drought conditions.
The focus on root traits and drought resistant crops has a sound basis. In the first green revolution, focus was on fertilizer use and improved irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. However, with diminishing availability of good land, we need crops that can grow under hostile conditions.
Crops will have to be cultivated on marginal lands where both water and artificial fertilizer will be scarce. Additionally, climate change is likely to make presently agriculture-friendly regions drier and hotter. It is in this context that crops with roots that can get water and nutrients from deeper soil become significant.
Though Lynch had used traditional cross-breeding techniques, it is generally considered that Genetically Modified (GM) crops hold the key to the second green revolution. Though GM crops are facing opposition on safety and other considerations, genetic engineering seems to be only real solution for the likely food shortages in the future, according to many experts.
Read the full article at Checkbiotech.
Tags: biotechnology, crop science, cross breeding, drought resistance, genetic modification
Posted in biotechnology, crop science, genetic modification | No Comments »
