Science Media Centre

A study examining the long-term health effects in pigs of a diet containing genetically modified crops has been published this week in the Journal of Organic Systems. The 168 pigs in the study were fed a diet of either GM or non-GM corn and soy over the course of their normal commercial lifespan (just over [...]

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has responded to criticism alleging products relying on a new gene silencing technology are entering the food supply without adequate scrutiny. Earlier this year, a scientific review raised concerns that double-stranded RNA molecules produced in new genetically modified crops could pose a risk to human health. The paper’s authors, including Professor Jack Heinemann at [...]

Authorities are investigating a potential breach of GM requirements at Lincoln University following the discovery of a genetically modified fungus outside of approved containment laboratories. Lincoln University researchers informed Ministry for Primary Industries and the Environmental Protection Agency on 7 March that it had evidence to suggest a fungus (Beauveria bassiana also known as Icing Sugar [...]

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has conducted an initial review into  a highly criticised French study linking herbicide resistant GM maize and cancer in rats, and found the research substantially lacking in terms of methodology and data. The research was published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology by Gilles-Eric Séralini and colleagues. You can [...]

A cow genetically engineered to produce hypo-allergenic milk has captured headlines both here and overseas. Daisy, a calf genetically modified to produce milk lacking a certain protein to which some infants are allergic, was developed by  scientists from Agresearch and the University of Waikato. You can read more about the research and expert commentary collected [...]

New Zealand scientists have genetically engineered a cow to produce milk lacking beta-lactoglobulin, a protein to which some people are allergic . Researchers from Agresearch and the University of Waikato used  RNA interference, a process that stops target genes from producing proteins, to engineer a dairy cow capable of producing milk lacking the whey protein [...]

In the wake of last week’s GM-corn and cancer controversy, Australian experts writing for the Conversation pick apart the back story of the research, paying particular attention to the media issues surrounding the study’s release. The article is republished below under creative commons license. Modifying the message: how tricks masked home truths about anti-GM science [...]

A treatment for a rare disease, which could previously only be manufactured by expensive cell culture techniques, may now be produced by greenhouse-grown maize. The findings, published today in Nature Communications, could dramatically decrease the cost of treating patients with a rare, but life-threatening inherited disease. Researchers created transgenic maize seeds which can synthesize alpha-L-iduronidase, [...]

Two scientists, working in conjunction with the Safe Food Foundation in Australia, claim CSIRO-developed genetically modified wheat may have unintended effects on humans. However other experts disagree with their assessment of the risks associated with the modified crop. Professor Jack Heinemann of the University of Canterbury, NZ, and Associate Professor Judy Carman, a biochemist at Flinders [...]

The media have reported widely on the viewpoints put forward by science and industry at this week’s Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference. The conference, held in Rotorua, was described by Dr William Rolleston, Vice President of Federated Farmers, as the ‘biotechnology equivalent of the Rugby World Cup.’ The Science Media Centre held a media briefing with [...]