Serbia bans GM crops The National Parliament of the Republic of Serbia has adopted a new law which completely prohibits growing GM crops, or anything made with them. This also means, for instance, that Serbia will not be importing any soybean meal made from GM soybeans, nor feeding it to cattle. But there seems to be a twist.  More†

Sci/Tech

GM crops - the next generation In the field of crops modified for improved nutrition, there's a lot more going on than Golden Rice. So much, in fact, that describing the current state of the art fills 328 pages, in a new book published by the Crop Science Society of America. Titled Modification of Seed Composition to Promote Health and Nutrition, it addresses a wide array of seed modification topics ranging from oils to proteins to allergens. More†

New version of Arabidopsis sequence Arabidopsis thaliana is a favorite experimental plant with researchers in over 120 countries around the world. The genes, proteins, and other traits of this fast-growing, tiny mustard plant reside in a vast database dubbed the Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) -- and a new version of the genome sequence of this plant has again been released. More†

NGO Watch

German biotech succumbs in activist onslaught The forces of ignorance continue to prevail in Germany, and to broaden their swath of destruction. Today, in what was once the cradle of modern science and philosophy, not a single farmer grows a modern biotech crop. No longer able to target farms, the activists have focused their barbaric attentions on research crops -- with six experiments destroyed so far this season, and much of the season remaining. More†

Potpourri

'Terminator' corn wins organic prize All Things Organic has just announced the winners of its 2009 New Product Competition, and one of the winners is "SK Food International's Crimson Red Corn (Best Overall Organic Ingredient)-A hybrid corn with a gene that prevents GMO contamination, used as an ingredient in snack foods, tortillas, and flour." SK Food spokesman Aaron Skyberg says "The gametophyte gene within the corn does not allow other types, or species, of corn to pollinate it." This is clearly a Genetic Use Restriction Technology (GURT). More† Andrew Apel

Novel with a novel GMO A newly-released novel combines the approaches of Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, and Jeffrey Smith. How did Smith join such august company? Well, it's fiction, for one thing. But there are other familiar elements: a giant multinational corporation engaged in the development and sales of GM seeds and complementary chemicals. There's pollen-mediated outcrossing, and a 'Doomsday Vault' of non-GM seeds buried in an ice-bound island far north of the Arctic Circle. And ancient manuscripts with clever riddles. And bombs and guns, and black helicopters. Ladies and gentlemen, the novel is The Doomsday Key, by James Rollins.  More†