Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms

Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309090857
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
Genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) have been under development for more than 20 years while GE crops have been grown commercially during the last decade. During this time, a number of questions have cropped up concerning the potential consequences that certain GEOs might have on natural or managed ecosystems and human health. Interest in developing methods to confine some GEOs and their transgenes to specifically designated release settings has increased and the success of these efforts could facilitate the continued growth and development of this technology. Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms examines biological methods that may be used with genetically engineered plants, animals, microbes, and fungi. Bioconfinement methods have been applied successfully to a few non-engineered organisms, but many promising techniques remain in the conceptual and experimental stages of development. This book reviews and evaluates these methods, discusses when and why to consider their use, and assesses how effectively they offer a significant reduction of the risks engineered organisms can present to the environment. Interdisciplinary research to develop new confinement methods could find ways to minimize the potential for unintended effects on human health and the environment. Need for this type of research is clear and successful methods could prove helpful in promoting regulatory approval for commercialization of future genetically engineered organisms.

Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms

Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309090857
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 277

Get Book

Book Description
Genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) have been under development for more than 20 years while GE crops have been grown commercially during the last decade. During this time, a number of questions have cropped up concerning the potential consequences that certain GEOs might have on natural or managed ecosystems and human health. Interest in developing methods to confine some GEOs and their transgenes to specifically designated release settings has increased and the success of these efforts could facilitate the continued growth and development of this technology. Biological Confinement of Genetically Engineered Organisms examines biological methods that may be used with genetically engineered plants, animals, microbes, and fungi. Bioconfinement methods have been applied successfully to a few non-engineered organisms, but many promising techniques remain in the conceptual and experimental stages of development. This book reviews and evaluates these methods, discusses when and why to consider their use, and assesses how effectively they offer a significant reduction of the risks engineered organisms can present to the environment. Interdisciplinary research to develop new confinement methods could find ways to minimize the potential for unintended effects on human health and the environment. Need for this type of research is clear and successful methods could prove helpful in promoting regulatory approval for commercialization of future genetically engineered organisms.

Field Testing Genetically Modified Organisms

Field Testing Genetically Modified Organisms PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309040760
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
Potential benefits from the use of genetically modified organismsâ€"such as bacteria that biodegrade environmental pollutantsâ€"are enormous. To minimize the risks of releasing such organisms into the environment, regulators are working to develop rational safeguards. This volume provides a comprehensive examination of the issues surrounding testing these organisms in the laboratory or the field and a practical framework for making decisions about organism release. Beginning with a discussion of classical versus molecular techniques for genetic alteration, the volume is divided into major sections for plants and microorganisms and covers the characteristics of altered organisms, past experience with releases, and such specific issues as whether plant introductions could promote weediness. The executive summary presents major conclusions and outlines the recommended decision-making framework.

Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat

Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitat PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309120853
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
Since the first commercial introduction of transgenic corn plants in 1995, biotechnology has provided enormous benefits to agricultural crop production. Research is underway to develop a much broader range of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs), including fish, trees, microbes, and insects, that could have the potential to transform fields such as aquaculture, biofuels production, bioremediation, biocontrol, and even the production of pharmaceuticals . However, biotechnology is not without risk and continues to be an extremely controversial topic. Chief among the concerns is the potential ecological effects of GEOs that interact with wildlife and habitats. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is charged with providing scientific advice to inform federal agencies that manage wildlife and their habitats. USGS has identified biotechnology as one of its major challenges for future research. Seeing an opportunity to initiate a dialogue between ecologists and developers of GEOs about this challenge, the USGS and the National Research Council (NRC) held a two-day workshop in November of 2007, to identify research activities with the greatest potential to provide the information needed to assess the ecological effects of GEOs on wildlife and habitats. The workshop, designed to approach the research questions from a habitat, rather than transgenic organism, perspective, is summarized in this book.

Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods

Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309166152
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
Assists policymakers in evaluating the appropriate scientific methods for detecting unintended changes in food and assessing the potential for adverse health effects from genetically modified products. In this book, the committee recommended that greater scrutiny should be given to foods containing new compounds or unusual amounts of naturally occurring substances, regardless of the method used to create them. The book offers a framework to guide federal agencies in selecting the route of safety assessment. It identifies and recommends several pre- and post-market approaches to guide the assessment of unintended compositional changes that could result from genetically modified foods and research avenues to fill the knowledge gaps.

Genetically Engineered Organisms

Genetically Engineered Organisms PDF Author: Deborah K. Letourneau
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420042033
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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Book Description
Genetic engineering suggests new avenues for constructing useful products, but it also poses hazards to the health of the environment and the public. Delineating those hazards is complicated, difficult, and important at every level of risk assessment and risk management decision-making. Risk assessment and risk management may be further complicated

Plant Gene Containment

Plant Gene Containment PDF Author: Melvin J. Oliver
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118352688
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Gene Containment provides a comprehensive look at genetically modified organisms and the strategies and implementation of key methods to gene containment. The book is divided into 5 parts: An Introduction that discusses the need for biotechnology and GMOs, Section 1 looks at the need for gene containment, Part II discusses varying strategies for gene containment, section III explores the assessment of gene containment approaches, and section IV covers the steps involved in implementing gene containment. Gene Containment will provide a thorough and up to date look at gene containment research and the needs for implementing new strategies in this arena.

Transgenic Organisms

Transgenic Organisms PDF Author: J. Tomiuk
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 3034891776
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
This selected collection of contributions focuses on the modification of organisms through genetic manipulation. Scientists from various disciplines assess the quality of our knowledge on which risk assessment of gene technology methods is currently based. Molecular biology and ecology, but also aspects of evolutionary and population genetics, human genetics and genetically modified food are among the topics covered. The book analyzes the impetus behind, and progress in, research methods which have been introduced into gene-technology risk assessment procedures over the last three years, and, in so doing, reveals gaps in our understanding of evolutionary processes. The history of risk assessment and ethical implications with respect to the deliberate release of GMOs are considered. Finally, the transfer of knowledge from the laboratory to the public, and the role of the media in this process are discussed. This monograph will be of great interest to all those concerned with the risk assessment of genetechnology methods.

Animal Biotechnology

Animal Biotechnology PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309084393
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Genetic-based animal biotechnology has produced new food and pharmaceutical products and promises many more advances to benefit humankind. These exciting prospects are accompanied by considerable unease, however, about matters such as safety and ethics. This book identifies science-based and policy-related concerns about animal biotechnologyâ€"key issues that must be resolved before the new breakthroughs can reach their potential. The book includes a short history of the field and provides understandable definitions of terms like cloning. Looking at technologies on the near horizon, the authors discuss what we know and what we fear about their effectsâ€"the inadvertent release of dangerous microorganisms, the safety of products derived from biotechnology, the impact of genetically engineered animals on their environment. In addition to these concerns, the book explores animal welfare concerns, and our societal and institutional capacity to manage and regulate the technology and its products. This accessible volume will be important to everyone interested in the implications of the use of animal biotechnology.

Introduction of Genetically Engineered Organisms

Introduction of Genetically Engineered Organisms PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description


Gene Drives on the Horizon

Gene Drives on the Horizon PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309437873
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
Research on gene drive systems is rapidly advancing. Many proposed applications of gene drive research aim to solve environmental and public health challenges, including the reduction of poverty and the burden of vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, which disproportionately impact low and middle income countries. However, due to their intrinsic qualities of rapid spread and irreversibility, gene drive systems raise many questions with respect to their safety relative to public and environmental health. Because gene drive systems are designed to alter the environments we share in ways that will be hard to anticipate and impossible to completely roll back, questions about the ethics surrounding use of this research are complex and will require very careful exploration. Gene Drives on the Horizon outlines the state of knowledge relative to the science, ethics, public engagement, and risk assessment as they pertain to research directions of gene drive systems and governance of the research process. This report offers principles for responsible practices of gene drive research and related applications for use by investigators, their institutions, the research funders, and regulators.