Monthly Archives: April 2009

From the Associated Press: SKorean experts claim to have cloned glowing dogs South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases. The four dogs, all named … Continue reading →

From Discover: New Biotech Corn Gives Triple Vitamin Boost; Protestors Unmoved A new genetically modified (GM) corn that produces beta carotene and precursors of vitamin C and folic acid is the first crop to be engineered to make more than … Continue reading →

In the coming years, expect to see more and more countries (and states & provinces) enacting legislation to impose restrictions on genetic testing — what kinds of tests can be done, whether they require a physician’s involvement or can be … Continue reading →

I’ve blogged about “personalized genomics” quite a lot, both here and on the Business Ethics Blog. (See, e.g., Advertising Ethics & Personalized Genomics and Personal Genomics: the Ethics of Shared Uncertainty.) These services have received a lot of media attention … Continue reading →

It’s about parents having their kids genetically tested for athletic aptitude. (A version of this story came out a couple of months ago, before I started this blog, but it’s still of interest.)From ABC30, Fresno: Playing with Genetics: D.N.A. & … Continue reading →

This story is from 2007, but it’s new to me and I’m guessing it will be new to many of you. And it’s a great read. By Marc Gunther, writing for Fortune: Attack of the mutant rice America’s rice farmers … Continue reading →

There’s nothing quite like seeing pharma whining about the bad rap it gets. Check out this editorial by Dr Richard Barker, Director General of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, published in BBC News: ‘What have drugs companies done … Continue reading →

Here are a handful of books I’ve read & found useful. It’s not an exhaustive list. Just a few off the top of my head. Food Biotechnology in Ethical Perspective, by Paul B. Thompson (I wish I’d written this book. … Continue reading →

One of the weirder food biotechnologies to make headlines in the last few years is ‘synthetic’ or ‘in vitro’ meat. Just as human skin cells are currently grown in laboratories in order to make skin grafts to treat burn victims, … Continue reading →

Everyone who knows anything about genetics know that clones are not copies. They’re genetic copies (and even then not perfect copies, since for example, the cloning process does not copy mitochondrial DNA). A lot of different aspects of our environment … Continue reading →