Tag: agriculture
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GMO Database Begun for European Regulators
30 November 2015. A database of DNA sequences found in genetically modified organisms or GMOs opened on Friday to help European regulators detect GMOs in food and feed products. The GMO-Amplicons database, available to the public, is run by the Joint Research Centre, the in-house science policy service of the European Commission. Europe now grows…
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Crop Disease Images Collected, Available Via Smartphones
25 November 2015. A team in the U.S. and Switzerland is assembling a database of 50,000 images of plant diseases for a smartphone app to help farmers worldwide deal with those diseases. Entomologist David Hughes at Pennsylvania State University in University Park and epidemiologist Marcel Salathé at Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne or EPFL, the…
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ARPA-E Funding 41 Energy Generation, Efficiency Projects
23 November 2015. Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, the agency funding riskier energy research and development initiatives in the U.S., announced funding for 41 new projects, including those at 19 private companies. The grants totaling $125 million were revealed today by Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz at 1776, a technology incubator and seed fund…
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Patent Awarded for Slower Digested Wheat
12 October 2015. A type of wheat digested more slowly than regular wheat, and thus releases glucose more slowly into the blood stream, received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Patent number 9,150,839, titled “Wheat with increased resistant starch levels ,” was awarded on 2 October to four inventors and assigned to…
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Synthetic Biology Company Raises $200 Million in IPO
21 August 2015. Intrexon Corp., a company developing genomic solutions with synthetic biology, raised some $200 million in its initial public stock offering. The Germantown, Maryland enterprise issued 4,878,049 shares of common stock priced at $41.00, and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol XON. The company’s shares closed today at $45.46,…
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Oilseed Plant Engineered for Biofuel, Chemical Feedstocks
14 August 2015. A biochemistry lab at Kansas State University genetically engineered camelina oilseed plants to make them better feedstocks for biofuels and chemicals. The team led by Kansas State professor Timothy Durrett published its findings in the August issue of the journal Plant Biotechnology Journal (paid subscription required). Durrett, with colleagues from University of…
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Astronauts to Eat Space-Grown Vegetables
10 August 2015. Astronauts in Expedition 44 on the International Space Station plan to eat fresh leafy vegetables today grown in their own lab. The red romaine lettuce on their menus is grown in a plant system, nicknamed Veggie — officially known as Veg-01 — and marks the first crops both grown and consumed in…
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Intrexon Acquires Oxitec, Partners on Genetic Disorder
10 August 2015. Intrexon Corp., a biotechnology company specializing in synthetic biology, is acquiring Oxitec Ltd., a designer of genetically modified insects to control the spread of disease-bearing and agricultural pests for $160 million. Intrexon is also partnering with Synthetic Biologics Inc. to develop therapies for phenylketonuria, a genetic metabolic disorder. Intrexon, in Gaithersburg, Maryland…
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Crop Biotech Acquires Genomic Engineering Technology
29 July 2015. Calyxt Inc., a biotechnology company developing new varieties of food crops, is licensing technology from University of Minnesota for more efficient modification of plant genomes. Financial details of the agreement between Calyxt, in New Brighton Minnesota, and the university were not disclosed. Calyxt — until recently known as Cellectis Plant Sciences —…
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Genetic Engineered Variety Controls Destructive Moth
16 July 2015. A genetically engineered diamondback moth that prevents females of the species from maturing is found in greenhouse tests to quickly control populations of this destructive pest. Results of the tests, led by biotechnology company Oxitec Ltd., appear today in the journal BMC Biology. The diamondback moth — Plutella xylostella — is a…