Since the first commercial release of genetically modified (GM, also referred to as genetically engineered, GE) crops in the middle of 1990s, the research and development of transgenic biotechnology has made dramatic progress. To date, global cultivation area of GM crops has exceeded 120 million hectares (James, 2009) with extensive cultivation of herbicide-tolerant soybean and canola, insect-r...

www.absa.org Applied Biosafety Vol. 17, No. 4, 2012 waste treatment, as well as a large alkaline hydrolysis “digester” for the disposal of animal remains. Paul is a member of the Cornell Institutional Biosafety Committee and directs the Vet College’s rabies risk management program. Before taking this position in 1999, he worked in the environmental engineering field with a specialty in industri...

Biosafety Forms, Manuals & Plans Forms: Sharps Waste Disposal Form [1] BUA Amendment form (use when amending a BUA that is in the old MS Word form) [2] Laboratory Course and Facility SOP Submission Form [3] (contact the Biosafety Office before completing this form) Biosafety Laboratory Audits Laboratory audit form [4] Safety Training Attendance Record [5] In-line vacuum filter [6] VMCS website,...

The research, accomplished in the period 2004-2005, had as general objective to analyse teachers and students' perceptions of the biosafety teaching-learning process in secondary courses of the health area. The data were collected at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation courses in Rio de Janeiro. A total of 82 students and 12 teachers have participated on the study. It was a teorical-empirical research with...

Abbreviations BCU, biocontainment unit; NPHL, Nebraska Public Health Laboratory; UNMC, University of Nebraska Medical Center; DHHS, Department of Health and Human Services; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; POC, point of care; BSL-3, biosafety level 3; EVD, Ebola virus disease; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; BSL-2, biosafety level 2; DoD, Department of Defense; EUA, Emergency...

Microelement contents and metabolism are vitally important for cereal plant growth and development as well as end-use properties. While minerals phytotoxicity harms plants, microelement deficiency also affects human health. Genetic engineering provides a promising way to solve these problems. As plants vary in abilities to uptake, transport, and accumulate minerals, and the key enzymes acting o...

Biotechnology is revolutionizing industrial and agricultural practice as the number of commercial biotechnology products is increasing each year. Simultaneously, several regulatory approaches are put into place to allow technological advancement while preserving public health and the environment. Developing and/or emerging countries often face major barriers to access biotechnologies and biotec...

It is emerging that benefits of new innovations in agricultural biotechnology may not be realised without appropriate biosafety regulatory mechanisms. The Kenyan regulatory experiences related to regulation of genetically engineered (GE) agricultural activities are explored to provide some basis for defining the challenges involved in biosafety regulation. The various shortcomings in the way th...

We report a case of ocular vaccinia infection in an unvaccinated laboratory worker. The patient was infected by a unique strain used in an experiment performed partly outside a biosafety cabinet. Vaccination should continue to be recommended, but laboratories with unvaccinated workers should also implement more stringent biosafety practices.