Regeneron Develops Drug for Treatment of CAPS

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has come out with a drug known as IL-1 Trap which can be effectively used for treatment of CAPS or CIAS1-related autoinflammatory periodic syndromes. It is regarded as a rare inherited spectrum of inflammatory conditions and the symptoms of this disease are spontaneous systemic inflammation. People suffering from this disease get the inflammation when they get exposed to cold temperatures. Regeneron is looking forward to get the approval from FDA in the second quarter of 2007 after the open label extension study is completed. Already the drug has got orphan drug status and this status is granted in case of only those drugs which are being developed for treating rare diseases.

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GM Rice Field Trials Don’t Impress Indian Rice Traders

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

The rice traders don’t seem to be comfortable with Indian government plans of conducting field trials of GM rice as they feel it could have an impact on millions of farmers in the country. They fear that these trials could lead to the contamination of the seeds and have a dampening effect on the confidence of the consumers and dent the reputation of India as a reliable exporter of rice. They have stated their concern after the EU started testing all the long grain rice shipments from U.S after it came to light that imports from U.S were contaminated with GM rice. GM rice is banned in around twenty five countries in Europe. India had been conducting field trials of short grain rice since the year 2005 but it was only last month that Supreme Court had banned from conducting any more fresh trials. I think the traders are right on their part and the government should study the situation in depth before proceeding with the trials.

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Would You Like To Taste GM Wine?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

Scientists from South Africa are developing GM wine. For this purpose an application has been sent to the government for conducting field trials of GM grapes. In another application a former South African has applied for selling GM yeast used in winemaking. The GM yeast is expected to produce protein stable wines. Wine makers are saying that they won’t touch this wine. It will take some time before the wine is produced but it would not be released commercially but you would soon find GM yeast on the shelves. Consumer groups and environmentalists are objecting against the GM wine as they fear that it would lead to environmental contamination. Though there is an international ban on GM wine but scientists feel that this might change. Let’s see.

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Field Trials of GM Cabbage Could Lead To Increased Resistance among Pests

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

Field trials of genetically engineered brassicas might lead to an increased resistance among pests. This was claimed by GE Free New Zealand. Researchers have produced GM broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower containing Bt bacteria which is used as a natural pesticide in the organics industry. Dr. Mary Christey, researcher stated that the Bt bacteria only killed the caterpillars which feeded on the brassica plants whereas GE Free New Zealand stated that if the case trial went ahead it would lead to growing resistance to Bt among the insects. On the other hand Dr. Christey negates this claim and states that if the trials get approved they would be closely monitored to prevent pollen transfer to other non GM crops. It seems that GM crops are being shunned every where. This makes me feel what the future of genetically engineered crops is.

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Indian Government In Favor Of GM Seeds

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

As against the opinion of activists, the Indian government feels that GM seeds did not pose any harm to the environment and farmers would definitely benefit from it. The government wants that the ban put by apex court on conducting field trials must be removed. It feels that the ban would affect the developments in this field. The government stated: Introduction of biotechnology in India after rigorous testing was beneficial for the farmers and the general public. Any action which hinders such introduction of new technology cannot be termed to be in public interest On the other hand the activists feel that these trials would not only harm the farmers but also have a damaging effect on the environment in the long run. Let’s see who wins the battle- the government or the activists.

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Indian Prime Minister States Country Needs to Balance GM Fear with Food Security

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

In order to clear confusion over the field of biotechnology, Manmohan Singh, Indian Prime Minister stated that environmental and health hazards if any posed by GM rice needs to be balanced with the requirement for feeding more than a billion people in the country. Mr. Singh stated: We need to strike a balance between using the potential of biotechnology to meet the requirements of hungry people, while addressing ethical concerns about interfering with nature. He was concerned that rice production in India was stagnating and there was an urgent requirement to increase the production. Rice is a staple diet of people in India and the country requires new means for raising the production of crops in the country. There are some segments in India who see biotechnology as an answer to improving the production in the country whereas some believe that it could harm the country in the long run. Up till now India has not permitted commercial production of GM crops.

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A Ray of Hope for Type I Diabetes Patient

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

Some hope for diabetes patients. For the first time insulin secreting cells have been created from human embryonic stem cells which could lead to the unlimited supply of cells which might be transplanted into people suffering from type 1 diabetes. Researchers at Novocell used a combination of chemicals in order to wheedle the stem cells to produce pancreatic cells. These cells create as much insulin as normal pancreatic cells would produce but when compared with adult cells it was not regulated by sugar levels. If this test turns out to be successful, researchers have also found out a way of coating the cells in a polymer known as polyethylene glycol which would prevent the cells from rejection from recipients immune system and at the same time allow insulin, sugar and other molecules to filter in and out.

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Anthrax Vaccine Trial Faces a Setback

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

This comes as shocking news for VaxGen. FDA has postponed the advanced testing of anthrax vaccine being developed by the company. The second mid stage clinical trials of the vaccine were about to begin. The reason for this is that FDA found out the data submitted by the company was insufficient to prove that the stability of the product was enough for starting the clinical trials. This vaccine was meant to prevent diseases, which might be caused due to inhalation of anthrax spores, and as per the BioShield project, millions of doses of the vaccine had to be stocked. The company has still not stated how much time would be required for addressing the concerns of the FDA. This delay might lead to losses for the company as the order for stocks worth $1 billion by the Department of Health and Human Services might be terminated.

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Make Case for Biotechnology, Says Tony Blair

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

British Prime Minister Tony Blair wants that scientists should make the case for biotechnology, GM crops and other scientific developments. He stated that as a child he was quite poor in the subject and he wanted the children of the country to view career in science as desirable as the profession of a footballer. He also has promised that he would defend science from critics and would go on and support scientists on issues of MMR vaccine, animal research and GM crops. In order to show his support for science, he visited a newly constructed synchrotron light. He has also promised to develop Biofuel which would help the country in cutting the emission levels. He wants that the scientist should get more assertive and that they should not get carried away by critics and school children should also view science as a profession in the same view as the world of sport.

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Promising Solution Found In Gene Therapy Delivery

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

University of Colorado and University of Denver scientists are on the verge of finding out a solution to an old mechanical roadblock in the delivery of gene therapy. Dr. Corinne Lengsfeld, Associate professor, University of Denver said: Gene therapy has kind of come to a halt because we can’t get the DNA to the cell efficiently enough to make a difference The team of researchers analyzed as to why oral nebulizers-mist generating devices which forced compressed air through liquid medicine was a failure in delivering therapeutic genes. They have found out that cavitation was responsible for degradation of DNA within the nebulizers and hence the treatment was rendered ineffective when it reached the lungs. They have realized that if the turbulent eddy size was kept bigger than the DNA it would not fragment. This knowledge would be beneficial in developing methods for protecting genes on their way to the targeted cells.

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