Thought these several recent articles regarding genetical engineering might
be of interest to list members:

Love Liza

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Science Magazine, 283(5405):1094.

On television, Arpad Pusztai said that potatoes that were genetically
altered to resist pests stunted growth and suppressed immunity in rats
after they had eaten the potatoes for 110 days. Initially, the Rowett
Research Institute supported his conclusions. However, two days after the
television program, the head of the institute called his claims "a total
muddle," and Pusztai was suspended.

Last week, 21 European and American  scientists said his conclusions were
correct and demanded that he be reinstated. Meanwhile, members of the House
of Commons urged a moratorium on genetically-altered food
and charged the government and the biotech industry with trying to suppress
the data.

The transgenic potatoes were encoded for lectin, a protein that can deter
pests.

Reference: Enserink, M. 1999. Preliminary data touch off genetic food
fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gagging on genetically modified food

The Rowett Research Institute of Aberdeen has lifted a ban
on one of its former scientists, allowing him to speak to the
press. Director Philip James made the decision to allay fears
that Rowett was trying to suppress data that questioned the
health affects of eating genetically altered food.

The ban was ordered after Arpad Pusztai, a senior researcher at  Rowett and
an expert on lectins, said on television that rats fed with potatoes that
were genetically modified to produce lectin suffered retarded growth,
depressed immune systems, and reduced body weight. Pusztai was suspended,
his contract not renewed, and he retired at the age of 68.
More than a score of scientists from around the world protested
the action, saying his research supported his
conclusions.
Reference: Masood, E. 1999. Gag on food scientist is lifted as gene
modification row hots up. Nature Magazine 397(6720):547.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blair resists moratorium

The brouhaha over genetically altered foods has a serious
political aspect: Prime Minister Tony Blair is refusing to
support a moratorium on the produce despite demands from
the opposition party and his own wildlife advisory body.

The Conservative Party also has demanded the resignation of Blair's science
minister, Lord David Sainsbury, who is an  enthusiastic supporter of
modified food. Sainsbury was the chairman of the supermarket chain bearing
his name that started selling modified food last year.

Opponents also  question whether Britain's regulatory infrastructure is
capable of ensuring the safety of commercial releases of  modified crops.
Environmental groups insist that the standards should be analogous to those
imposed on pharmaceuticals.


Reference: Masood, E. 1999. . . . and Blair resists demands for a
moratorium. Nature Magazine 397(6720):547.

--
[log in to unmask] (Liza May)