genetic modification news stories on Newser

New Source of Human Breast Milk: Cows?

Matt Cantor — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:23:05 CDT

Scientists in China have genetically altered some 300 cows to produce "human" milk, the Telegraph reports. Using cloning techniques, scientists inserted human genes into cow embryos and implanted the embryos in mother cows. Scientists say the resulting dairy cows produced milk with "much higher nutritional content" than regular cow’s milk,...

Bad Driving Is in the Genes

Nick McMaster — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:37:56 CDT

Certain people—perhaps up to 30% of the population—may be fated by their genetic makeup to be bad drivers, a new study suggests. Researchers tested a small group of people on a driving simulator and found that subjects with a particular gene variant weren't so hot at keeping up...

FDA Approves Drug Made From Gene-Tweaked Goats

Rob Quinn — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 07:07:35 CST

An FDA decision to approve a drug made from genetically engineered goats is being called a milestone decision likely to lead to many more "pharm animals," the Boston Globe reports. Biotech firm GTC says the milk from a single genetically modified goat can produce as much of the human anti-bloodclotting...

Sensitive Swiss Ban Plant Humiliation

Matt Cantor — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:37:01 CDT

Swiss scientists eager to carry out genetic experiments on plants can’t be rash—they must first consider the how their actions make that tulip feel. Government-backed ethicists studied the effects of such experimentation on plants’ dignity; they found that it was wrong to hurt plants for no reason, or to...

Italian Cooks Up Eggplant and Tomato Tree

Nick McMaster — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:12:49 CDT

A Sicilian amateur botanist claims to have developed a plant hybrid that functions as the world’s first tomato/eggplant tree, ANSA reports. Taking advantage of the fact that all three share the same genus, Giuseppe Marino grafted tomato and eggplant tissue onto a devil’s fig shrub, a hardy plant that can...

Cheap Malaria Drug Holds Promise for Millions

Peter Fearon — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:15:00 CDT

The lives of millions of children may be saved by a new technique for producing a malaria drug at a 10th of the cost of current treatments, making it accessible the world's most impoverished people, reports the Independent . The technique involves inserting a dozen synthetic genes into yeast cells, then...

Environment, Bioethics Under Vatican's Scrutiny

Nick McMaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:30:00 CDT

Catholics must guard against "new sins" such as polluting the environment and using genetic modification, the Vatican says. Their church has updated the concept of sin for the contemporary world, paying special attention to the expanding and morally murky world of bioethics, a top official from the Apostolic Penitentiary, which...

Lab Creates Speedy, Lean Mighty Mouse

Lucas Laursen — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:45:00 CDT

Scientists have made speedy super mice by flipping a genetic switch, reports the Guardian . The mice can run 30 times as far as regular mice, and they live longer and breed later. They also eat 60% more food than average mice but manage to stay leaner and possibly more resistant...

"Skinny Gene" Found in Mice

Nick McMaster — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 21:01:57 CDT

A gene dubbed "adipose," identified more than 50 years ago in fruit flies, has now been found to regulate thinness, or its opposite, in worms and mice, according to a study in the journal Cell Metabolism. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have determined that the the...