Science & Technology News

Women Scientists to take advantage of research funding

[NAIROBI] Kenya is calling on its women scientists to take advantage of extra research funding to help solve the country's development challenges, as part of its long-term goal to attain mid-income status by 2030.

http://www.scidev.net/en/science-and-innovation-policy/gender/news/kenya-doubles-research-funding-for-women-scientists.html

FAO Biosafety Resource Book

June 2011

FAO has just published the "Biosafety Resource Book", based on materials from the training courses organized by FAO from 2002 to 2010 in the framework of its biosafety capacity development projects. The training courses were tailored to meet the needs of biosafety regulators, policy-makers and members of national biosafety committees. The courses aimed to offer them background knowledge critical in the process of reviewing biosafety dossiers and biosafety-related decision-making and to acquaint them with concepts and methodologies relevant to risk analysis of GMO release and biosafety management. The book consists of five modules and special attention has been paid to avoid technical jargon and to keep the modules scientifically accurate as well as accessible to non-specialists. Module A, by O. Brandenberg, Z. Dhlamini, A. Sensi, K. Ghosh and A. Sonnino, is an introduction to molecular biology and genetic engineering. It reviews the basic scientific concepts and principles used in producing GMOs, and provides a brief description of current and emerging uses of biotechnology in crops, livestock and fisheries. Module B, by E. Hodson de Jaramillo, A. Sensi, O. Brandenberg, K. Ghosh and A. Sonnino, is dedicated to ecological aspects. It provides the necessary background information on ecology and evolution needed to analyse and understand the consequences of introducing GMOs into the environment. Module C, by A. Sensi, O. Brandenberg, K. Ghosh and A. Sonnino, is on risk analysis. It provides basic information on biological risks, concepts, principles and methodologies of risk assessment, management and communication, focusing on crop biotechnology and environmental risk assessment of GM crops. Module D, by O. Brandenberg, A. Sensi, K. Ghosh and A. Sonnino, is entitled ‘Test and post-release monitoring of GMOs’. It addresses the use and monitoring of GMOs under containment, confinement and limited field trials, as well as the monitoring of commercially released GMOs. Module E, by A.M. Zivian, A. Sensi and C. Bullón Caro, is about legal aspects. It provides an overview of the existing legal tools and frameworks on biotechnology and biosafety, and offers a thorough description of the international instruments that regulate biosafety and their interactions. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i1905e/i1905e00.htm or contact sandra.tardioli@fao.org to receive a copy, providing your full postal address.

President Obama visits New York science fair

During a day trip to New York City on March 29, U.S. President Barack Obama made an unscheduled stop at the American Museum of Natural History to tour the New York Science and Engineering Fair—his third science fair visit in recent weeks. As he examined projects including a bamboo bicycle and an exhibit on human-robot speech interaction, Obama told students, “There’s going to be a great demand for people with the skills you’re developing.” >>>

Ecsite e-news, February 2011

Teachers and science communication professionals have the opportunity of contributing their own educational materials to the Open Science Resources portal in the ‘Discover Open Science Resources’ summer school organised in Crete in July 2011 to train interested professionals in the use of the to construct online educational resources for use in formal and informal settings. Sign up free to the Open Science Resources portal to discover digital content from major science centres and museums in Europe. For more information please contact Jennifer Palumbo: jpalumbo@ecsite.eu.

Click here for other stories in this issue

 Nanotechnology for health: Facts and figures

24 November 2010

Can developing countries use nanotechnology to improve health? Priya Shetty looks at nanomedicine's promise.

Nanotechnology — the science of the extremely small — holds enormous potential for healthcare, from delivering drugs more effectively, diagnosing diseases more rapidly and sensitively, and delivering vaccines via aerosols and patches.

Readers can access the complete article at: http://www.scidev.net/en/health/nanotechnology-for-health/features/nanotechnology-for-health-facts-and-figures-1.html

Nano 'tea bag' purifies water
August 2010

It looks like a tea bag, but it is packed with nano-fibres and active carbon to remove contaminants from water. >>>

Antimatter, No Longer Science Fiction

A team of scientists at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, have discovered a way to contain antimatter. The scientists have isolated antihydrogen particles for one tenth of a second. This is a major scientific breakthrough, as the existence of antimatter was thought to be hypothetical. Antimatter has always been portrayed in science fiction and it is best known as a power source for the star ships in Star Trek.

What is Antimatter?

In 1931, British Physicist, Paul Dirac, speculated that the reverse of matter existed, i.e. antimatter. When matter comes into contact with antimatter, they annihilate each other and release energy. The annihilation is how scientist prove that antihydrogen was produced in the complex experiment they performed at CERN. It is thought that the universe held the same amount of matter and antimatter but they do not know what happened to the antimatter. They seek to study the antimatter created in the hope that this could aid scientist in understanding the universe a bit better.

For more information, please see CERN’s website on antimatter.
http://livefromcern.web.cern.ch/livefromcern/antimatter/index.html

2010 UNESCO Science Report

17 November 2010

While the USA, Europe and Japan may still be leading the global research and development (R&D) effort, they are increasingly being challenged by emerging economies, especially China. This is one of the findings of the 2010 UNESCO Science Report, which features UIS data on R&D.

The UNESCO Science Report depicts a rapidly changing landscape. While investment in R&D is growing globally (in volume)*, emerging economies are clearly gaining strength in science and technology, according to UIS data. This can be seen especially in terms of Asia’s share of gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD).

Led mainly by China, India and the Republic of Korea, Asia’s share increased from 27 to 32% between 2002 and 2007. Over the same period, the three heavyweights, the European Union, USA and Japan, registered a decrease. In 2002, almost 83% of R&D was carried out in developed countries; by 2007, this share had dropped to 76%. This trend is even clearer when industry’s contribution to GERD is considered. Between 2000 and 2007, the private sector share of R&D spending, as a proportion of GDP, saw a sharp increase in Japan, China, Singapore and especially the Republic of Korea, while it remained stable in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom and even saw a slight decrease in the Russian Federation and the USA, according to UIS data.

The Science Report was written by a team of international experts. It presents an overview of global trends in science and technology, based on a wide range of qualitative and quantitative indicators produced by the UIS and other organizations. It is divided into chapters devoted to the various regions, with spotlights on certain individual countries.

For more information:

Consult the UNESCO portal to download the full report, executive summary, press release and other information available in various languages.

The UIS has prepared three fact sheets on:
• human resources invested in R&D
• R&D expenditure
• women in science.

Consult the UIS Data Centre for the the latest available data on science and technology.

* The share of world GDP devoted to R&D reached 1.7% in 2007, a percentage comparable to that for 2002, but the amount in US dollars rose from US$ 790 billion to US$ 1,146 billion, a growth of 45%. This is slightly greater than the growth in GDP for the same period (43%).

UNESCO Institute for Statistics | CP 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville | Montreal, QC H3C 3J7 | Canada

Filling the Cupboard: U.N. Estimates the World's Hungry at Almost 1 Billion

'Food and Agricultural Organization points to biotechnology as a key to expanding food sources quickly and inexpensively'

This year alone, 925 million people will go hungry or be malnourished. That's the data in a new report to be issued this month from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. FAO says that although this figure represents a decline from the previous year, it's not significant enough to achieve hunger reduction goals.

Additionally, the slight decline was expected, says FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. It's the result of the world's economy bouncing back from the trauma of 2008's economic collapse and food prices stabilizing, which gave larger swaths of the population access to food supplies. But this is no reason for world leaders to rest on their laurels, says Diouf, who is urging world leaders and policymakers to stay diligent in the fight against world hunger.

Readers can access the complete article at: http://biotech-now.org/section/food-amp-ag/2010/10/08/filling-cupboard-un-estimates-world-s-hungry-almost-1-billion

Scientists Breed 'Miracle' Tomato Lines For Mass Production Of Miraculin

Miraculin is a glycoprotein, a molecule involved in immune responses of the body. It was first extracted from the miracle fruit (Richadella dulcifica). The taste of miraculin is not sweet but it transforms any sour flavor into sweet taste. Since the miracle fruit can only be planted in tropical countries, scientists have attempted to produce more amounts of miraculin by transferring miraculin's gene to other tomatoes. In the University of Tsukuba, scientist Kazuhisa Kato and colleagues performed molecular breeding of tomato lines for mass production of miraculin indoors.

They crossed the transgenic tomato line "Moneymaker" with a dwarf tomato known as "Micro-Tom." The resulting crossed lines produced more fruit yield and more miraculin than Moneymaker. Furthermore, the tomato's miraculin has a taste-modifying action comparable with the miracle fruit's glycoprotein. It only takes one little tomato to turn off the taste buds' sensitivity to sour taste.

Subscribers of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry can read the complete article at: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jf101874b.

Common Orchids Exhibit Rapid Adaptation Amidst Climate Change

Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew's Jodrell University, have discovered that some plants have the capacity to adapt to climate change in a shorter span of time. Scientists used to believe that adaptation takes hundreds of years, which is too slow to counter the rapid effects of climate change. They have observed this in delicate purple European marsh-orchids, which are of hybrid origin. Although the three orchids have the same genetic heritage, they are considerably different in ecological requirements, morphology, physical characteristics and distribution.

"Our results show the importance of the environment in altering inherited traits in these orchids and also contributing to biodiversity. The epigenetic level of natural variation can be adaptive and has the potential to be rapidly released, in a few generations, in contrast to genetic variation," said Dr. Ovidiu Paun, lead researcher of the project.

Readers can access the complete article at:
http://www.kew.org/about-kew/press-media/press-releases-kew/orchid-epigenetics/index.htm

Temperature Increase Affects Rice Production In Asia

The net impact of projected temperature increases as a result of climate change will slow down the growth of rice production in Asia. This was the finding of a research team that analyzed six years of data from 227 irrigated rice farms in 6 major rice-growing countries in Asia, which produces more than 90% of the world's rice. The report was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).

"Up to a point, higher day-time temperatures can increase rice yield, but future yield losses caused by higher night-time temperatures will likely outweigh any such gains because temperatures are rising faster at night," said Jarrod Welch, lead author of the report and graduate student of economics at the University of California, San Diego. "And if day-time temperatures get too high, they too start to restrict rice yields, causing an additional loss in production." Welch added that there is a need to change rice production methods or develop new rice strains that can withstand higher temperatures.

Other members of the research team are experts from Duke University, University of California (Berkeley), the International Rice Research Institute, and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

See the original news at http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/general/08-06HigherTemperatures.asp

UNCTAD technology and innovation report 2010

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development recently published “Technology and innovation report 2010: Enhancing food security in Africa through science, technology and innovation”. The 106-page report focuses on ways of improving agricultural performance in Africa and the role that technology and innovation can play in raising the agricultural production and incomes of smallholder farmers and in facilitating access to food for the poorest people both on and off the farm. It is organised in seven chapters, covering respectively key issues in the development of African agriculture; building innovation capabilities in Africa agriculture; agriculture and national food security; challenges and opportunities to achieve food security; transfer and diffusion of agricultural technology; technology mixes for small scale farming (including discussion of various crop biotechnologies); and recommendations.

See http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/tir2009_en.pdf (1.2 MB) or contact constantine.bartel@unctad.org for more information.

Agricultural biotechnologies to 2015

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published “Biotechnologies in agriculture and related natural resources to 2015”, by A. Arundel and D. Sawaya. The 105-page article provides an overview of the current state of technological development and presents estimates and projections for the types of biotechnologies expected to reach the market for use in agriculture and related natural resources to 2015. It is one of two articles published in a special issue (volume 2009/3) of the periodical ‘OECD Journal: General Papers’, written for the ‘Bioeconomy to 2030’ project.

See http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/19/36/44534300.pdf (2.1 MB) or contact david.sawaya@oecd.org for more information.

Colombia Approves GM Soybeans For Commercial Planting

The Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA), the regulatory body responsible for approving GMOs for agriculture and livestock in Columbia , recently approved the commercial planting of Roundup Ready soybeans (MON-04032-6) developed by Monsanto.

The approval for commercial planting of this GM soybean was made through Decree No. 2404 of July 17, 2010. Commercial planting of this RR soybean, featuring resistance to glyphosate, will be in the Orinoco region.

In addition to this authorization, ICA approved four GM events for animal consumption and/or feed production: three on maize and one on soybeans. These are:

• GA 21 Corn from Syngenta.

• Lysine LY038 Corn from Monsanto Company

• MIR 162 x Bt11 x GA21 Corn from Syngenta

• GAT Soybean from DuPont Company

ICA endorsed the expansion of areas for commercial planting of Liberty Link cotton produced by Bayer CropScience. This cotton can also be planted in the humid Caribbean coast of Colombia.

In total, 13 approvals were granted in 2010 for activities with GMOs for agricultural and livestock purposes (7 in the first term and 5 in July 2010), which include biosafety tests, research studies, commercial crops (and expansion of areas for these) and animal consumption.

EU Approves 6 GMOs for Import

The European Commission approved the import of five new GMO maize varieties and reauthorized another, after member states failed to "rule definitively on the biotech dossiers". The approvals are only for the import of crops for food and feed purposes and not for cultivation. Earlier, the Commission launched plans to devolve growing rights to member states.

See the original news at:
http://www.agra-net.com/portal2/home.jsp?template=newsarticle&artid=20017796478&pubid=ag002

Bringing Dehydrated Plants "Back To Life"

Using resurrection fern (Polypodium polypodioides), collaborating scientists Ronald Balsamo, associate professor of Biology at Villanova University and Bradley Layton, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics at Drexel University have deciphered the mystery behind the plants' survival mechanism in extreme water loss. The research involved a multi-pronged approach that could detect relative levels of different proteins over time, localizing the protein in spatial regions of plant tissues, and resolving the individual locations of the proteins through a powerful microscopy technique.

The research collaborators found that dehydrins, a particular class of protein that has the ability to attract, sequester and localize water, was prevalent in places near the cell walls. The dehydrins which were surrounded by water molecules may actually allow water to act as a lubricant between the plant cell membrane and the plant cell wall or even between individual cell wall layers. This is important to prevent the drying up cell from becoming crisp that will crumble in extreme water loss. The vascular tissue of the plant is also protected from getting deformed, thus, keeping it intact once water becomes available. Localization of the dehydrin gene and transferring it to other species would be important in conferring drought resistance in other plants.

The story can be seen at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/ajob-bdp033110.php.

Application to OGTR for International Release of Disease Resistant GM Banana

The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR), Australia announced the application from the Queensland University of Technology for the intentional release of genetically-modified (GM) banana resistant to pathogenic microorganisms such as Fusarium wilt and Sigatoka leaft spot. The trial will be conducted as a proof of concept experiment to assess the disease response and/or developmental effects on the GM banana lines. The proposed trial will be conducted in one site in the Litchfield Municipality LGA (NT) on a maximum area of 1.5 ha between November 2010 and November 2014. A comprehensive Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) for the application is currently being prepared which will be out by October 2010. All inquiries and comments should be directed to the OGTR.

See the application and the original announcement at:
http://www.ogtr.gov.au/internet/ogtr/publishing.nsf/Content/dir107-4/$FILE/dir107ebnotific.rtf

EFSA Panel's Scientific Opinion On Assessing Allergenicity

After 181 comments received in a public consultation involving both the public and private sector, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel has adopted a scientific opinion on strategies for assessing the risk of allergenicity of GM plants and microorganisms and derived food and feed. The Panel concludes that, "as there is no single test to assess the allergenicity of a GM food or feed, a case-by-case evaluation based on a weight-of-evidence approach is the most appropriate way to do this".

The Panel also provides information on how to:

• Analyze the sequence of the proteins in order to identify possible similarities with known allergens

• Test the potential of the proteins to bind with specific antibodies; and

• Assess the breakdown of the protein during digestion In addition to assessing the new protein

In addition, the Panel recommends that for crops known to be allergenic, the whole GM plant is tested for allergenicity.

See EFSA's media release at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/gmo100729.htm

Scientists Engineer Bacteria For Direct Conversion Of Biomass To Biodiesel And Specialty Chemicals

Biodiesel is commonly produced through a series of steps involving the cultivation of a high-oil producing bioenergy crop, extraction of the crop's oil, and application of chemical processing steps. The chemical steps usually entail high energy and processing costs. Recent research could make the biomass to biodiesel conversion route less costly. A collaborative research group of the United States Department of Energy (US-DOE)-Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), recently reported the development of an E. coli bacterium which can convert biomass directly to biodiesel, and other fatty-acid-derived chemicals. Using the tools of synthetic biology, they first diverted fatty acid metabolism toward the production of fuels and other chemicals from glucose. Then they engineered the new E.coli strain to produce hemicellulases (enzymes for the conversion of hemicellulose from plant biomass into simple sugars). A complete production scheme has been reportedly demonstrated, but strategies to achieve "increases in titer, productivity and yield" are needed for industrial transition.

Filipina biochemist, first ASEAN L'oréal-UNESCO Science Awardee

National Scientist Dr. Lourdes Jansuy Cruz, a biochemist from the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines Diliman, is the first Filipino and the first recipient from the ASEAN region to be honored as one of the five laureates of the prestigious L'oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. Out of nearly a thousand nominees worldwide, Dr. Cruz was selected and recognized by a jury led by Nobel Prize winner Gunter Blobel for her pioneering research on Conotoxins, toxins from marine snails that led to the development of non-addictive morphine.

Three decades ago, she worked in collaboration with Dr. Baldomero Olivera of the University of Utah for the isolation and characterization of peptides from the venom of Conus, a marine snail found in the Philippines. One of these peptides was developed by the U.S. biotechnology firm Cognetix Corporation in producing the Prialt Ziconotodine, a non-addictive alternative drug to morphine. Nowadays, conotoxins are used by scientists as biochemical probes to investigate the activity of the human brain. Dr. Cruz, together with the other four laureates, received $100,000 each and was conferred in the awarding ceremony held last March at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The prestigious award is given annually to women in science (one exceptional female scientist per continent), who contributed to scientific advancement in the field of Life Sciences.

View details of the award here

Luteolin: Most Effective Inhibitor of Inflammation

Molecular biologist Daniel H. Hwang of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and colleagues have found the explanationon how natural compounds in plants called phytochemicals protect us from unfavorable inflammation that can increase the risk of cancer and other disorders.

Hwang discovered that the six phytochemicals- luteolin, quercetin, chrysin, eriodicytol, hesperetin, and naringenin inhibit a specific enzyme called TBK1, which activates the formation of gene products responsible in producing inflammation. Luteolin was observed to be the most effective inhibitor among the six phytochemicals. Luteolin is present in celery, thyme, green peppers, and chamomile tea.

The techniques used by the scientists in this study could also be used in identifying other anti-inflammatory compounds present in fruits and vegetables.

Read more at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100708.htm.

Biotech And Breeding Can Improve Future Food Security, Experts Say

Agricultural production could be one of the most affected sector by climate change. Thus, scientists continue to find ways to improve food security through biotechnology and traditional breeding techniques. Mark Howden, an expert in climate change and agriculture at the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation believes that scientists need creativity to combat hunger. He said that "to be able to feed this growing population, one thing we will need is an improvement in the study of genetics." He stressed this in his speech during the climate change and adaptation conference in Australia.

On the other hand, Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, a lecturer at the University of Queensland, said that there is nothing to fear about genetic modification. He supported his claim by discussing the results of his study wherein he discovered a new gene type that could possibly help farmers plant more crops in less time.

Another expert, Anna Burns from Monash University, has discovered that cyanide levels in cassava increased during drought which is hazardous for consumers. "I think genetic modification is only one option, and it would take a long time to implement in developing countries, where food security issues are most urgent," Burns said. "Traditional breeding programmes are more viable and can select for varieties with low-cyanogenic concentration. Both agricultural and social factors need to be considered in adaptation to climate change. And prevention is better than a cure," Burns said.

For more information, visit http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89785.

African Farmers Could Plant Virus-Resistant Cassava By 2015

African farmers could soon plant cassava breeds resistant to major diseases caused by viruses. One of these diseases is the cassava mosaic disease, which promotes underdeveloped growth; and the brown streak disease, which causes deterioration of roots. The mosaic disease alone destroys about 35 million tonnes of cassava in Africa annually.

US-based Donald Danforth Plant Science Center scientists conducted field trials of GM tobacco with mosaic disease-resistance in Uganda and they also have pending trials for cassava with the same modification. In addition, there is a request for permission to run field trials of cassava with brown streak-resistance. According to Claude Fauquet, Director of the Cassava Research at the Center, the transgenic crops could be commercially available in 2015. On the other hand, another team of researchers from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture are also expecting approval for field trials of cassava breeds resistant to mosaic disease in Kenya and Tanzania .

Visit http://allafrica.com/stories/201007090950.html for more information.

Consumers, Scientists, Farmers And Spanish Companies Demand Gm Crop And Technology Access

Farmers from Spain, Romania and Portugal presented to the members of the parliament (MPs) and representatives of the European Commission in Brussels a manifesto stating that "Biotechnology, a tool for agro-food cannot be ignored. The text in the rejection of positions and decisions against GMOs are not based in science. The safety of GM crops is guaranteed by the strictest and independent scientific assessment."

The farmers sounded the inequality the European Union is making in agricultural production and called for scientifically-based decisions so as not to discriminate farmers who want to grow GM crops. Spanish farmers have also attested their experiences in planting GM crops saying that the cultivation of transgenic corn yields more in a cost-effective way with higher quality and using less resource. These technologies which are available in other parts of the world should be enjoyed by other farmers in the EU.

Governments Outline Global Protocol On Planet's Genetic Resources

After seven days of thorough discussions at the 9th meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit sharing at Montreal, the world's governments finally came up with a draft of a legally binding protocol on the access and benefit sharing of the rich genetic resources of our planet. The draft is entitled Aichi Nagiya Protocol on Access and Benefit -Sharing (ABS) and will be finalized and adopted during the 10th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention in Biological Diversity on 29 October 2010. Access and benefit-sharing pertains to the process by which the genetic resources - whether plant, animal or microorganism - are accessed in the countries of origin and how the benefits are shared to the people or countries that provide them. Ensuring unbiased and equal sharing of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources is one of three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

"History will recall that the Aichi Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing was born here in Montreal. Once again, the Montreal magic has worked for delivering one of the most important legal instruments in the history of the environment movement," said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention.

Read the press release at http://www.cbd.int/doc/press/2010/pr-2010-07-16-abs-en.pdf.

Dong Nai Sets Up Biotech Center

Dong Nai Province in Vietnam has just unveiled a project to build a center for biotechnology to bolster high-tech development and attract US$500 million investment in the next ten years. It will initially spend about VND1,000 billion to develop infrastructure for the center covering 208 hectares in Cam My District from 2010 to 2015, said Pham Van Sang, director of the provincial Department of Science and Technology, to reporters.

Sang said, "The center will be a multi-function complex for research and development, training, technology transfer, and production of bio-products for use in the areas of agriculture, medicine, pharmaceutics and environment. The center will mobilize the research and educational resources in biotechnology to facilitate discovery and commercialization of new technologies."

The province started work on a road linking different sections of the biotech center. Sang also noted that the province was going to complete the process necessary for the second stage so that it can be developed into a high-tech park and later as a science city.

The original news is available at
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/201007/Dong-Nai-aims-high-for-biotech-center-923554/