biotech

A recent lawsuit accuses biotech giant Monsanto of hiring an army of online trolls to attack critics of their glyphosate-based herbicide, RoundUp. [1]

There are test-tube babies and three-parent babies, and both generate plenty of controversy. But as it stands, making a baby still requires an egg from a mother and sperm cells from a father. Scientists say that won’t always be the case, though, because someday it will likely be possible to make babies from skin cells alone.
Last year, scientists in Japan revealed that mice had been born of eggs made from a parent’s skin cells, and researchers believe the same technique can one day be used in humans. [1]

The British government has approved the planting of a new experimental crop of genetically modified “super wheat” despite fears that it could contaminate other crops and despite opposition from about 30 environmental groups. [1]
The GM wheat, engineered to use sunlight more efficiently, will be tested by researchers in Hertfordshire. The crops are touted for boosting yields by as much as 20% to 40% in the greenhouse.
Rothamsted Research’s Head of Plant Biology and Crop Science, Dr. Malcolm Hawkesford, explains:

On April 5, a team of chemists and engineers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Iowa reported that they had discovered neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides, in treated drinking water. This finding marks the first time anyone has identified the chemicals in tap water. [1]
Gregory LeFevre, a study author and University of Iowa environmental engineer, said:

“Having these types of compounds present in water does have the potential to be concerning, but we don’t really know, at this point, what these levels might be.” [1]

At a children’s health conference earlier this month, the results of a study were presented which show that glyphosate, the main component in the Monsanto herbicide, RoundUp, is detected in pregnant women and could lead to adverse outcomes, including shorter gestation times and lower birth weights.
The news comes just weeks after the USDA scrapped plans to start testing food for glyphosate.

Judges, witnesses and experts gather for the first session of the People’s Assembly, the hearings of the Monsanto Tribunal at the Hague in the Netherlands. (Photo: Monsanto TribunalFollow/flickr/cc)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has quietly scrapped plans to start testing food for glyphosate, the primary component of the Monsanto-made herbicide RoundUp.

It came to light recently that the EPA official tasked with evaluating the cancer risk associated with glyphosate – a toxic herbicide chemical – may have bragged that he deserved a medal if he could ‘ruin another agency’s investigation into glyphosate.’ [1]
The EPA official, Jess Rowland, allegedly made these comments during an April 2015 phone conversation, farmers and others who claim they were sickened by glyphosate say.

Doctors in the U.K. have been given the first-ever license to create “three-parent babies,” with the controversial IVF treatment taking place as early as later this year. [1]
The license was granted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to a team who pioneered the mitochondrial pronuclear transfer technique at the University of Newcastle.

President Trump’s pick for head of the FDA, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, has taken more than $400,000 from drug makers in the last few years alone, and Gottlieb has deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry. [1]
Gottlieb has testified multiple times on Capitol Hill concerning complex drug pricing issues, and is largely approved of by drug companies and pharmaceutical investors for FDA head. He’s on the boards of directors of several small drug and biotech companies, while also serving as an adviser to GlaxoSmithKline PLC. [2]