Information Systems for Biotechnology (ISB) News Report
June 2005
Article Summaries (links are to the ISB News Report website)
Partial table of contents

PLANT RESEARCH NEWS

Association genetics and its implications for agbiotech research
James Oard

Despite the tremendous potential offered by genome sequence information, microarray and proteomic research, it is clear that no single technology will successfully address all challenges simultaneously, and that new methods should dovetail whenever possible with traditional schemes in genetic mapping and gene discovery efforts. Help may be on the way, however, with association genetics used by human geneticists as an outgrowth of the Human Genome Project.

Complete article:
pdf: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/artspdf/jun0502.pdf
web: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/news05.jun.html#jun0502

Improving stress tolerance through energy homeostatis in plants
Tawanda Zidenga

Crop yields are frequently lowered by biotic and abiotic stresses, and one of the most effective strategies to improve agricultural output is to breed or engineer plants tolerant or resistant to stress. In a paper published in the Plant Journal, March 2005, researchers from Bayer Biosciences report that breeding or engineering for high energy-use efficiency under stress conditions is a valuable approach to enhance overall stress tolerance of crops.

Complete article:
pdf: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/artspdf/jun0503.pdf
web: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/news05.jun.html#jun0503

RISK ASSESSMENT

A view on the GM farm scale evaluation
Dave Bohan

At the end of April, the final set of results from the Farm Scale Evaluations (FSE) of GM herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops was published. This paper on winter-sown canola (oilseed rape) brought to a close the largest field experiment ever conducted on farmland ecology. The aim was to evaluate the impact on weed and invertebrate wildlife of an agricultural technology that had yet to be introduced in the UK.

Complete article:
pdf: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/artspdf/jun0501.pdf
web: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/news05.jun.html#jun0501

REGULATORY NEWS

NIH's fluctuating ethics policy polarizes opinion
Phill Jones

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds itself caught between polarized forces: one group argues that a liberal policy on outside consulting attracts scientists to the NIH, whereas the other argues that a strict policy repels activities that cast doubt on the NIH's integrity. Just as the NIH's recombinant DNA guidelines have become a standard throughout academia, the final ethics guidelines may well induce changes in ethics policies beyond the NIH's borders

Complete article:
pdf: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/artspdf/jun0504.pdf
web: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/news05.jun.html#jun0504

REGULATORY NEWS

Spurring growth in dynamic sectors: a paradigm shift in biotech strategy and management
Anastasia L. Thatcher

A disturbing trend has emerged as a growing number of biotech firms fail each year--despite their best efforts to keep pace with the sector. Growth is often touted as the paramount goal for business enterprises. But the question arises: has biotech grown too quickly? It seems that biotech
companies' growth strategies at the very least need to be qualified or, perhaps, abandoned.

Complete article:
pdf: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/artspdf/jun0505.pdf
web: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/news05.jun.html#jun0505
 

The material in this News Report is compiled by NBIAP's Information Systems for Biotechnology, a joint project of USDA/CSREES and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or Virginia Tech.

The entire news report is available in these formats:
PDF version: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/jun05.pdf
Web version: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2005/news05.jun.html