Potato is the most significant non-cereal crop. Much attention has been paid to this commercially important crop. The aim of this volume is to capture the recent advances made in improving potatoes using traditional breeding methods as well as genetic engineering technology. The book provides a critical appraisal of the state-of-the-art finding on this crop.

For most people, the global war over genetically modified foods is a distant and confusing one. The battles are conducted in the mystifying language of genetics.

A handful of corporate "life science" giants, such as Monsanto, are pitted against a worldwide network of anticorporate ecowarriors like Greenpeace. And yet the possible benefits of biotech agriculture to our food supply are too vital to be left to either partisan.

The companies claim to be leading a new agricultural revolution that will save the world with crops modified to survive frost, drought, pests, and plague. The greens warn that "playing God" with plant genes is dangerous. It could create new allergies, upset ecosystems, destroy biodiversity, and produce uncontrollable mutations. Worst of all, the antibiotech forces say, a single food conglomerate could end up telling us what to eat.

In "Food, Inc.," acclaimed journalist Peter Pringle shows how both sides in this overheated conflict have made false promises, engaged in propaganda science, and indulged in fear-mongering. In this urgent dispatch, he suggests that a fertile partnership between consumers, corporations, scientists, and farmers could still allow the biotech harvest to reach its full potential in helping to overcome the problem of world hunger, providing nutritious food and keeping the environment healthy.

A research biologist tells the clear-eyed story of modern plant genetics, the human manipulation of biotechnology, and the reality of genetically engineered plants worldwide. Genetically engineered plant products line the shelves of our grocery stores, but we don't know which ones they are because no label identifies them. Should we be concerned? It is true that biotech companies are saying that engineered corn and canola are safe, but are they telling the truth? In High Tech Harvest, Paul Lurquin answers these questions and more, believing that the public has a right to know and understand how its food is manipulated at the most basic level, that of the DNA itself. With the goal to inform, and a mission to reinforce the importance of the scientific method, Paul Lurquin writes a comprehensive and user-friendly description of the scientific origins, the development, and the applications of genetically modified plants throughout the world today. Lurquin argues that only with an understanding of the basic science can people make informed and reasonable decisions about genetically modified foods.

Genetically modified plants are currently causing controversy worldwide; a great deal has been written about their supposed environmental effects. However, the newspaper headlines and public debates often provide a level of reasoning akin to "this is your brain on genetically modified corn," which is to say, they exclude or exaggerate the actual scientific research on the impacts of these plants. Genetically Modified Planet goes beyond the rhetoric to investigate for concerned consumers the actual state of scientific research on genetically modified plants. Stewart argues that while there are indeed real and potential risks of growing engineered crops, there are also real and overwhelmingly positive environmental benefits.

This book is about an issue of our times which does not yet get the attention that it deserves - the growing dominance of huge transnational corporations over every aspect of our lives from executive super-pay to private sector pension funds. The authors of this book look at one particular kind of modern corporation - the hi-tech agro-chemical and genetic engineering companies that now dominate the food chain. In this richly detailed account, they show how a handful of companies have: - Accelerated the industrialization of agriculture and the integration of the global economy in order to gain an alarming control over the food chain. - Penetrated the previously independent world of scholarly research both in universities and the specialized international agricultural research centres in CGIAR. - Manipulated public opinion, including distorting our understanding of key environmental processes and issues. - Unduly influenced regulatory agencies and national governments. - Turned international bodies like the WTO, the World Bank, and the FAO into instruments devising rules and policies primarily of benefit to corporate growth and corporate profit. - And now are further expanding by bullying the governments and farmers of the developing countries to accept their technologies and products. Whether you are interested in the environment, democracy, or the development of countries in the South, the information and analysis contained in this book will prove both disturbing and empowering.

Eat Your Genes describes the genetic engineering techniques used in agriculture. It explores the food industry's commercial motivations, why certain crop modifications have predominated, and the importance of patenting to the genetic engineering enterprise. This book explains how crop segregation and labelling are central to the debate, and outlines the development of consumer resistance to the marketing of GM food in Europe. The potential health and ecological risks, the ethical issues, and the implications for both industrialized and developing countries are examined. The author argues that genetic engineering is still a long way from meeting its promises of feeding the world's hungry and contributing to a more eco-friendly agriculture. As the public debate over the desirability of GM food continues, this is the book to help you think through what is involved.

Few avenues of scientific inquiry raise more thorny ethical questions than the cloning of human beings, a radical way to control our DNA. In August 2001, in conjunction with his decision to permit limited federal funding for stem-cell research, President George W. Bush created the President's Council on Bioethics to address the ethical ramifications of biomedical innovation. Over the past year the Council, whose members comprise an all-star team of leading scientists, doctors, ethicists, lawyers, humanists, and theologians, has discussed and debated the pros and cons of cloning, whether to produce children or to aid in scientific research. This book is its insightful and thought-provoking report.

The questions the Council members confronted do not have easy answers, and they did not seek to hide their differences behind an artificial consensus. Rather, the Council decided to allow each side to make its own best case, so that the American people can think about and debate these questions, which go to the heart of what it means to be a human being. Just as the dawn of the atomic age created ethical dilemmas for the United States, cloning presents us with similar quandaries that we are sure to wrestle with for decades to come.

Providing the first account of the story behind genetically engineered plants, Paul F. Lurquin covers the controversial birth of the field, its sudden death, phoenixlike reemergence, and ultimate triumph as not only a legitimate field of science but a new tool of multinational corporate interests. In addition, Lurquin looks ahead to the potential impact this revolutionary technology will have on human welfare.

As Lurquin shows, it was the intense competition between international labs that resulted in the creation of the first transgenic plants. Two very different approaches to plant genetic engineering came to fruition at practically the same time, and Lurquin's account demonstrates how cross-fertilization between the two areas was critical to success. The scientists concerned were trying to tackle some very basic scientific problems and did not foresee the way that corporations would apply their methodology. With detailed accounts of the work of individual scientists and teams all over the world, Lurquin pieces together a remarkable account.

This combined lecture and laboratory manual presents detailed protocols for the multi-step process involved in isolating a gene, cloning and characterizing it, expressing the encoded protein, purifying the protein, and characterizing rudimentary aspects of its basic physical properties. The manual includes 20 experiments designed to train students to prepare, manipulate and analyse plasmids, to produce fusion proteins in bacteria, and to purify these proteins based on unique chemical properties or substrate affinities. Maximizing its utility for both students and instructors, this unique manual precedes each lab experiment with the necessary background theory and principles, which culminate in detailed process rationale followed by the actual experimental technique. While many lab manuals list background references, this innovative book combines both theory and procedure into one manageable volume.

The possibility that human beings may soon be cloned has generated enormous anxiety and fueled a vigorous debate about the ethics of contemporary science. Unfortunately, much of this debate about cloning has treated cloning as singular and revolutionary. The essays in Cloning and the Future of Human Embryo Research place debates about cloning in the context of reproductive technology and human embryo research. Although novel, cloning is really just the next step in a series of reproductive interventions that began with in vitro fertilization in 1978. Cloning, embryo research, and reproductive technology must therefore be discussed together in order to be understood. The authors of this volume bring these topics together by examining the status of preimplantation embryos, debates about cloning and embryo research, and the formulation of public policy. The book is distinctive in framing cloning as inextricably tied to embryo research and in offering both secular and religious perspectives on cloning and embryo research.

Each plant species has its own unique passage that is affected by its gene pool, dispersal ability, interactions with competitors and pests, and the habitats and climactic conditions to which it is exposed. This book will explore plant species as dynamic entities within this passage, following the four stages of plant species life that normally occur. Those four stages can be identified as birth, expansion, differentiation and loss of cohesion, and decline/extinction. Each chapter focuses on part of the speciation process and examines it closely in the light of exploring the species passage from birth to death.

This title examines the impact of this potentially dangerous technology on food sources, animals, and our own bodies.

The announcement last spring that a lab in Scotland had successfully cloned a mammal captured the attention of the media and the imagination of the public. This culmination of decades of research has profound scientific and ethical implications. If applied to other species, cloning could further genetic engineering and greatly improve animal husbandry. Now that a sheep has been cloned, are humans next? Governments reacted swiftly with bans on funding for human cloning research. Churches united in calling for a complete ban on the cloning of higher animals. Critics immediately alluded to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the myth of Icarus. Has scientific sophistication outpaced our social and moral development? Can we "save" our society from this possible evil by banning any attempts to expand the knowledge? Does cloning really differ in spirit from the selective breeding that humankind has performed for centuries? "Cloning: For and Against" comprises 30 articles by scientists, ethicists, religious leaders and legal experts who explore the benefits and costs of cloning. Topics include: playing God: is cloning against human nature?; is cloning the salvation for endangered species?; no need for marriage: the separation of reproduction from human relationships; can you xerox a soul? and other theological issues; Brave New World: what's possible and what isn't; clones in medicine; and a million Michael Jacksons: eugenic/dysgenic and cultural consequences of human cloning.

Recombinant DNA techniques have revolutionized the isolation and production of antibodies in recent years. This has resulted in rapid changes in how to handle antibodies for research. This new Practical Approach volume responds to this change by assembling, in one volume, protocols which allow the researcher to isolate a new antibody, analyse its properties, format the right antibody molecule or fragment, and produce it in usable quantities. The book is divided into two parts: the first describes the generation and analysis of antibodies and the second covers engineering and production. This timely book will be of interest to those involved in both clinical and molecular biological applications of antibodies.

With each species lost to the mass extinction crisis, the natural economy of the nation and of the world is greatly diminished. An endangered animal may hold the cure for cancer; a threatened plant could someday become a major food crop; and even bacteria often provide novel molecular structures in polymer science. As the rainforest is destroyed and habitats are degraded, conservationists are now urgently searching for dramatic new ways to save these economic resources.
In this provocative and important book, Joseph Henry Vogel details one potential solution that has met with increasing interest and popularity: the privatization of genetic information. Vogel cogently makes the case that the world should abandon the doctrine of "the common heritage of mankind" and create private property rights over genes. Landowners, once vested with the genetic resources on their land, will have a newfound financial incentive to protect what they now already control.
Genes for Sale provides an overview of the many complexities inherent in implementing a viable conservation policy. Vogel elaborates both technical issues like the construction of a "gargantuan database" of landtitles and biological inventories, and political issues like legal reform. Clearly written, engaging, and timely, Genes for Sale provides students, scientists, and policy makers alike with the ideal introduction to an exciting and controversial new approach to saving our precious living heritage.

Molecular Breeding and Nutritional Aspects of Buckwheat describes the general characterization and genetic diversity of buckwheat (family Polygonaceae, genus Fagopyrum) around the globe (especially in Russia, China, India, and Eastern Europe), the arid and cool regions where it is most frequently consumed, and nutritional information on a variety of buckwheat uses, including tea, groats, flour, and noodles. With detailed information on buckwheat regeneration, genetic transformation, gene function analysis, and the metabolic engineering of bioactive compounds, the book guides readers through a variety of buckwheat varietal adaptations, providing foundation information on which additional research should be conducted. It is divided into four parts, including genetic resource and phylogenetic relationship, food nutrition, growth and cultivation, and molecular breeding, with each section providing insights into the most current developments.

In 2001 the Human Genome Project succeeded in mapping the DNA of humans. This landmark accomplishment launched the field of genomics, the integrated study of all the genes in the human body and the related biomedical interventions that can be tailored to benefit a person's health. Today genomics, part of a larger movement toward personalized medicine, is poised to revolutionize health care. By cross-referencing an individual's genetic sequence - their genome - against known elements of "Big Data," elements of genomics are already being incorporated on a widespread basis, including prenatal disease screening and targeted cancer treatments. With more innovations soon to arrive at the bedside, the promise of the genomics revolution is limitless. This entry in the What Everyone Needs to Know series offers an authoritative resource on the prospects and realities of genomics and personalized medicine. As this science continues to alter traditional medical paradigms, consumers are faced with additional options and more complicated decisions regarding their health care. This book provides the essential information everyone needs.

Applied Molecular Biotechnology: The Next Generation of Genetic Engineering explains state-of-the-art advances in the rapidly developing area of molecular biotechnology, the technology of the new millennium. Comprised of chapters authored by leading experts in their respective fields, this authoritative reference text: Highlights the latest omics-based tools and approaches used in modern biotechnology Explains how various molecular biology technologies can be used to develop transgenic plants and how those plants can meet growing food and plant-derived product demands Discusses chloroplast gene expression systems, mitochondrial omics, plant functional genomics, and whole-genome resequencing for crop improvement Explores plant-microbe and plant-insect interactions affecting plant protection and productivity Covers animal models, pharmacogenomics, human tissue banking, and the molecular diagnosis of diseases such as cervical cancer, obesity, and diabetes Examines the molecular aspects of viral diseases, production of industrial commodities using viral biotechnology, and biotechnological uses of magnetic nanoparticles Describes the use of biotechnology in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, environmental conservation, and renewable energy sectors Applied Molecular Biotechnology: The Next Generation of Genetic Engineering serves as a springboard for new discoveries in molecular biology and its applications. Thus, this book is an invaluable resource for students and researchers of molecular biotechnology.

This book develops a rational design and systematic approach to construct a gene network with desired behaviors. In order to achieve this goal, the registry of standard biological parts and experimental techniques are introduced at first. Then these biological components are characterized by a standard modeling method and collected in the component libraries, which can be efficiently reused in engineering synthetic gene networks. Based on the system theory, some design specifications are provided to engineer the synthetic gene networks to robustly track the desired trajectory by employing the component libraries.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. A common tool in both research and agriculture, genetic engineering involves the direct manipulation of genes. Today's areas of medical research include genetic engineering to produce vaccines against disease, pharmaceutical development, and the treatment of disease. In agriculture, genetic engineering is used to modify crops and domestic animals to increase their yields, aid in production, and enhance nutritive aspects. This important book covers new research and studies in genetic engineering in the areas of medicine and agriculture.

Few scientific developments have given rise to as much controversy as biotechnology. Numerous groups are united in their opposition, expressing concern over environmental and health risks, impacts on rural livelihoods, the economic dominance of multinational companies and the ethical implications of crossing species boundaries. Among the supporters of the technology are those that believe in its potential to enhance food security, further economic development, increase productivity and reduce environmental pressures. As a result, countries - and sectors within countries - find themselves at odds with each other while potential opportunities for development offered by the use of biotechnology are seized or missed, and related risks go unmanaged. This book, a unique interdisciplinary collection of perspectives from the developing world, examines the ongoing debate. Writing for the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, leading experts address issues such as diffusion of technology, intellectual property rights, the Cartagena Protocol, impacts of international trade, capacity building and biotechnology research and regulation. With the most recent and relevant examples from around the world, Trading in Genes offers the reader a single-volume overview of the connections between biotechnology, trade and sustainability that is both wide-ranging and thorough

Geno-technology is a technology unlike any other, with significant implications for life in the 21st century. It directly affects us at a deeply personal level, it poses a threat to the boundaries which conventionally define selfhood, it generates potentially novel risks and dangers, and it threatens the very basis of accepted understandings of culture and society. This unique, exploratory volume discusses the ethical, cultural and philosophical issues surrounding the search for the 'book of life', focusing on the mapping of the human genome in Britain, the USA and Europe. It examines the impact of genetically modified crops, food and pharmacogenomics, along with the science and technology policy issues deriving from the human genome project. The authors investigate the potential risks and implications of the new genetics and conclude with a discussion of how nature may be reconfigured to underpin developments in health, commerce, state regulation and the law, both on a local and global scale.

An introductory tour into the stranger-than-fiction world of genetic engineering, a scientific realm inhabited by eager researchers intent upon fashioning a prodigious medley of genetically modified (GM) organisms to serve human needs.

'Transgenic Crop Protection' explores chiefly scientific issues regarding the development of pest and disease resistant crops using genes transferred from other sources. One paper looks at the impact of transgenic crops on non-target species and the final two papers discuss the social implications of this science.

Genetic Engineering: A Primer presents the growing field of biotechnology to non-science majors and other general interest readers. The author examines the natural forces that change genetic information and the ways in which scientists have learned to engineer these genetic changes. With a wealth of information flooding the popular press, including news and controversy surrounding cloning, Genetic Engineering is a timely volume that provides background information to the reader intent on understanding this fascinating development.