Biotech Updates

With 630,000 hectares of farmland dedicated to genetically modified (GM) maize planted by 470,500 farmers, the Philippines ranked 5th among the top adopters of GM crops in Asia-Pacific and 13th worldwide, according to the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2018 released by ISAAA.

Declaration to Establish African Coalition on Genome Editing Communication Adopted

Bioscience stakeholders across the world have resolved to establish an African Coalition for Communicating about Genome Editing, as the curtains came down on the Africa Biennial Biosciences Communication Symposium (ABBC2019) held from August 29-30, 2019 in Pretoria, South Africa.

US, Highest Producer of Biotech Crops in 2018, Gov't Support Vital

The US remains as the top producer of biotech crops in 2018, according to the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2018 released by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). The US government's strong support to biotechnology and the commitment of the government agencies to modernize the coordinated framework to regulate biotech products reflect the country's leadership in acceptance and recognition of the scientific basis of the technology.

New Cloning System Allows Development of Transgene-free Edited Crops

Researchers from Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain and Durham University in the UK developed a tried and tested cloning system for genome editing with a monitoring module that lights up when a transgene is detected. This new technique provides an option for researchers to have an efficient elimination of editing system after genome editing, minimizing the chance of off-target mutations, and also allows development of edited plants free of foreign DNA.