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EFSA's Statement on France's Request to Halt MON810 Cultivation |
 In response to the request of the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed the documents forwarded by France in support of its request to ban the planting of GM maize MON810 in the EU. According to EFSA, the scientific publications and the arguments forwarded by France do not provide any new information that would change the previous risk assessment conclusions and risk management recommendations released by the EFSA GMO Panel. EFSA considers that the previous GMO Panel risk assessment conclusions and risk management recommendations on MON 810 are still valid and applicable. Thus, EFSA concluded that there is no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment, that would support the adoption of an emergency measure on the cultivation of maize MON 810.
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Biotech Tomatoes for Cosmetics |
 A new company, Persephone Bio Ltd. formed by Cathie Martin and Eugenio Butelli from the John Innes Centre is working on modified tomatoes to produce high levels of useful compounds. Named after the Greek goddess of vegetation, Persephone Bio Ltd. will use biotechnology to manufacture sought-after bioactive ingredients for the cosmetics industry.
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The Impact of Possible Climate Changes on Developing Countries |
 In an article released in GM Crops and Food, biotech experts Naglaa Abdallah, Vivian Moses, and CS Prakash presented how biotech applications can improve plant's tolerance to abiotic stresses brought about by climate change. According to the article, developing countries, particularly those in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa may face the gravest consequences of climate change in food production. Genetic transformation and the resulting GM crops are increasingly adopted around the world, and thus the technology holds promise in addressing climate change problems in agriculture. Nanotechnology and other emerging biotechnologies can also offer solutions to devastating environmental changes that may occur.
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A biweekly update on gene editing research, regulations, and impact
produced by ISAAA Inc. |
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| A monthly update on gene drive research and development provided by ISAAA in collaboration with the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research |
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GM APPROVAL UPDATES |
- The Philippines approved the canola event LBFLFK for food, feed, and processing.
- The Philippines approved the cotton event GFM cry1A for commercial cultivation.
- Brazil approved the wheat event HB4 for commercial cultivation.
- The Philippines approved the soybean event GMB 151 for food, feed, and processing.
- The Philippines approved the eggplant event EE-1 for cultivation
- The USA approved the canola event MON94100 for food and feed.
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| Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10. |
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