genetically engineered

Majestic monarch butterflies cover the fir trees in the forests of Central Mexico every winter, but fewer of them have been calling these woods home, thanks mostly to humanity’s destruction of their natural environment. [1]

The number of monarchs have been dwindling for 2 decades, but the situation seems to have reached a tipping point this year.
Karen Oberhauser, co-chairwoman of Monarch Joint Venture, a national collaboration of 50 conservation, education and research groups, confirmed it, saying:

The world’s first 3-parent baby was born into the world 5 months ago, but the news was only announced on September 27. [1]
Why the wait? Doctors wanted to make sure little Abrahim Hassan reached the 5-month mark to make sure he didn’t have the same condition that killed his siblings.

Monsanto announced last week that it licensed the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool from the Broad Institute in Boston for use in seed development. The technology will allow the agritech giant to edit crops’ DNA by “snipping” away undesirable traits – or adding in more desirable ones – of the plants’ genetic codes. Frankenfood? [1]
Source: Business Insider

In what is believed to be a first, a Swedish scientist has attempted to edit DNA in healthy human embryos. [1]
Developmental biologist Fredrik Lanner is the first known researcher to conduct the experiment, which has long been considered taboo due to safety and ethical concerns.

The agritech world got a lot bigger this week when German chemical giant Bayer inked an agreement to acquire Monsanto for $66 billion in cash. The 2 companies had been bickering for months, and this was the 3rd refurbished offer. In the end, Bayer agreed to pay $128 per share, up from the company’s previous offer of $127.50. [1]
The agreement makes it the largest all-cash deal on record.
Markus Manns of Union Investment, one of Bayer’s top 12 investors, said:

A lot of people are willing to spend a few extra bucks to buy organic produce and antibiotic-free meat these days, while others aren’t too worried about eating foods made with genetically modified ingredients or sprayed with pesticides. Well, it seems that scientists recently made history when they served up – and ate – the first full-meal consisting of genetically engineered food using CRISPR technology.

A panel of scientists with India’s Ministry of Environment said in a risk assessment of genetically modified mustard that the crop does not “pose any risk of causing any adverse effects on human and animal health and safety.” [1]
Mustard oil accounts for more than 10% of India’s cooking requirement of approximately 21 million metric tons.
The scientists have spoken, but not everyone is convinced that the information is accurate.

Glyphosate, a controversial ingredient found in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is showing up in streams, rivers, and other aquatic systems around the world due to runoff. Unfortunately, this may be damaging a type of green macroalgae that is common in streams, a new Brazilian study published in the journal Phycologia shows. [1]

As health officials predicted, the Zika virus is beginning to spread across south Florida, and now a type of genetically modified (GM) mosquito designed to fight the virus has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). [1]

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said last week that an unapproved variety of wheat was found growing in a Washington state field, though there are no signs that it made its way into commercial grain shipments.
The Monsanto-produced wheat is a RoundUp-resistant variety that was never commercially released. USDA officials said it was discovered in a farmer’s planted field. Department officials are in the process of testing the farmer’s wheat harvest for the GMO variety, but so far none has been found.