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News
around the world
Mayo
clicnic researcher uses supercomputer to model a SARS viral enzyme
Mayo
clinic researcher, Dr Yuan-Ping Pang, a chemist and head of the
Computer-Aided Molecular Design Laboratory, has developed a series
of three-dimensional (3D) models of an enzyme responsible for
the replication of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) virus. These instantaneous “structures-in-time”
are central to designing an anti-SARS drug – and are therefore
a welcomed advance as the virus continues to threaten public health.
The structure
and dynamics of the SARS viral enzyme, called chymotrypsin-like
cysteine proteinase, is described in the online version of the
journal Proteins:
Structure, Function and Bioinformatics.
UK
grants human cloning licence
Britain has granted
its first license for therapeutic cloning on 11th August 2004,
more than three years after becoming the first nation to authorize
the technique to produce stem cells for medical research. “After
careful consideration of all the scientific, ethical, legal and
medical aspects of the project, the Human Fertilization and Embryology
Authority License Committee agreed to grant an initial one year
research to the Newcastle Centre for Life,” the British
regulator said. The researchers of Newcastle University hope to
create insulin-producing cells that could be transplanted into
diabetic patients.
On a related front, Britain’s
leading scientific institution said it
is urging countries to back a campaign to stop a possible ban
on human cloning as part of global treaty banning human cloning
on 30th August 2004. The London-based Royal Society is stepping
up its drive to push the United Nations to ban the cloning of
babies, but to make no ruling on using the technology for medical
research, or therapeutic cloning, at its 59th General Session
in October 2004.
Europe
gives GM green light
The
European Commission authorized
the first Genetically Modified (GM) seeds for commercial use across
European Union (EU) territory on 8th September 2004. A total of
17 GM maize (MON810) varieties have been added to the EU Common
Seed Catalogue, and a strain of GM oilseed rape were approved
for sale, allowing trade and planting of these varieties in all
25 EU Member States.
David Byrne, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer
Protection, said in a press release that the maize has been "thoroughly
assessed to be safe for human health and the environment. It has
been grown in Spain for years without any known problems; it will
be clearly labeled as GM maize to allow farmers a choice.”
To view common question and answers on the regulation of GMOs
in the EU, please click here.
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