The debate about genetically engineered (GE) crops has become increasingly polarized in the United States, Europe, and some developing countries. The debate polarization has not been resolved in and by the complex and seemingly divergent literature that examines the impacts of the actual and potential adoption and commercialization of GE crops in industrialized and non-industrialized countries....

Ever since the introduction of the Salmonella typhimurium mammalian microsome mutagenicity assay (the Ames test ) over three decades ago, there has been a constant development of additional genotoxicity assays based upon the use of genetically engineered microorganisms. Such assays rely either on reversion principles similar to those of the Ames test or on promoter–reporter fusions that generat...

24 times a year (twice monthly) by the American Physiological Society, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda MD systems with techniques linking genes and pathways to physiology, from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. It is published publishes results of a wide variety of studies from human and from informative model Physiological Genomics

Healthy, productive farmland separates humans from famine, making wise agricultural practices crucial to everyone. Plant scientists at universities and companies throughout the world endeavour to improve the quality, quantity, safety and sustainability of agricultural production, and their efforts have proven highly successful. Despite the remarkable success of a number of genetically engineere...

In 1987, a report by the National Academy of Sciences stated " an urgent need for the scientific community to provide guidance to both investigators and regulators in evaluating planned introductions of modified organisms from an ecological perspective " (39). This chapter incorporates such a perspective and focuses on a number of ecological issues relevant to the planned introduction of geneti...

The feasibility of multi-step, one-flask total synthesis of natural products is demonstrated by cloning and overexpression of the corresponding biosynthetic enzymes from plant and microbial sources. As many as eight or nine enzymes can be recombined in vitro to reach an advanced intermediate in the vitamin B12 pathway.

Genetically engineered crops were first commercialized in 1994 and since then have been rapidly adopted, enabling growers to more effectively manage pests and increase crop productivity while ensuring food, feed, and environmental safety. The development of these crops is complex and based on rigorous science that must be well coordinated to create a plant with desired beneficial phenotypes. Th...

Biodegradation is defined as the biologically catalyzed reduction in complexity of chemical compounds [1]. Indeed, biodegradation is the process by which organic substances are broken down into smaller compounds by living microbial organisms [2]. When biodegradation is complete, the process is called "mineralization". However, in most cases the term biodegra‐ dation is generally used to describ...

Mosquito-borne diseases have been documented as a chronic scourge of human health since written histories have existed, and yet even the best current technologies are unable to eliminate recurring endemic transmission, such as malaria, or occasional surprising epidemics, including Zika. In response, researchers are continually searching for novel solutions to these old problems. The effective, ...