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| News Around World |
| | West Africa to Boost Food Crops with Biotechnology |
In
an effort to increase food production in the region, 15 members of the
Economic Community of West Africa have agreed to utilize biotechnology
in a regional action plan for biotechnology development for 2006-2010.
The plan which stresses public-private partnerships to increase biotechnology
investments calls for a network of biotechnology experts to be established.
An independent fund for assessing the socio-economical impacts of the
use of GMOs as well as a regional policy for managing intellectual property
rights would be set up. |
| Scientists at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Bonn in Germany have announced their publication of the most extensive map of the distribution of biodiversity to date, a global map of estimated plant species richness. The map covers several hundred thousand species, and highlights areas of particular concern for conservation. The map was produced with a combination of field-survey based species counts from over a thousand regions worldwide with high-resolution environmental data.
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| Genetically modified mosquitoes may just be the solution for combating dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases. Dengue fever is currently endemic in more than 100 countries across the globe, and accounts for up to 50 million cases of infection every year. The genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are to carry genes that cause death in early development stages or at the larval and pupal stages. Scientists are optimistic that such controls may one day help fight against many other fatal mosquito-borne diseases in the future. |
The humble fruit fly though may be seen as a pest to many, is actually creating its own niche in the scientific community as a potential lifesaver. These insects have an edge over other organisms in as they can be grown cheaply, yet their embryos may undergo similar developmental processes as other larger organisms. Research on the genes of the fruit fly have been conducted in an attempt to understand the mechanisms of human disease at Texas A&M University. |
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