Brussels | Reuters — Crops obtained by plant breeding technique mutagenesis should fall under laws restricting the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Europe’s highest court said on Wednesday, in a victory for environmental campaigners. The biotech industry had argued that much of mutagenesis, or gene editing, is effectively little different to the mutagenesis that […] Read more
GMO rules cover plant gene editing technique, top EU court says
Limagrain says GMO protests could force R+D relocation
Paris | Reuters — Limagrain, the world’s fourth-largest seed maker, will consider moving its research activities out of France if field trials in its home market continue to be sabotaged by opponents of genetically modified crops. The French co-operative group was targeted last month by protestors who invaded test fields southeast of Paris and scattered […] Read more
Disease-resistant pigs latest win for gene editing technology
London | Reuters — A British animal genetics firm, working with U.S. scientists, has bred the world’s first pigs resistant to a common viral disease, using the hot new technology of gene editing. Genus, which supplies pig and bull semen to farmers worldwide, said on Tuesday it had worked with the University of Missouri to […] Read more
Gene editing could pave way for pig organ transplants
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. researchers have used a new gene editing technique to trim away potentially harmful virus genes that have impeded the use of pig organs for transplants in humans. The study, published in the journal Science, expands on capabilities of the genome editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9, which works as a type […] Read more