Europe: moratorium for two more years After a six-month consultation process, Environmental ministers of the European Union have launched a plan aimed at overcoming the inability of the Council of Ministers to take authorisation decisions on new GM products for cultivation in the EU. The final step in the plan, slated for June 2010, is a draft report by the European Commission on the conclusions of a Commission-member state reflection group on the socio-economic implications of GMOs. More†

US GAO recommends more biotech oversight In a new report to Congress, the US Government Accountability Office says that more oversight and coordination is needed among federal agencies to prevent unapproved releases of genetically modified crops into the environment and food and feed supply. Crop developers are subject to periodic inspections, but the GAO says the Agriculture Department lacks the resources to inspect every site and the EPA has not made inspections a priority. Most of the known unauthorized releases were self-reported by the crop developers, the report said.  More†

Business

Progress in drought tolerance and yield Evogene, Ltd. and Biogemma SAS have announced results of field trials for maize hybrids containing a number of genes predicted by Evogene to increase yield and drought tolerance. The field trials, conducted in several sites in the US and in Israel, demonstrate that hybrids containing certain of these genes displayed "significant yield increases under both normal and drought conditions", as compared to control maize hybrids under the same conditions. More†

Legal

France fined for noncompliance The European Court of Justice has fined France EUR10 million (US$12.9 million) for failing to harmonize its laws on GM crops and foods with those of the European Union. EU governments had a deadline of October 2002 to revise transpose the EU's Deliberate Release Directive into their national legislation. More†

Sci/Tech

Soybean Genome Sequenced The US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has released a complete draft assembly of the soybean (Glycine max) genetic code, making it widely available to the research community to advance new breeding strategies for one of the world's most valuable plant commodities. More†

Development

India developing GM papaya India's Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) is developing a GM papaya that would resist papaya ring spot virus (PRSV), which is responsible for destroying papaya cultivation in thousands of acres in the country. Dr. C. Ramasamy, TNAU Vice Chancellor, said the department of Biotechnology had allocated funds for the project and it would take another three years for coming out with GM papaya. More†