Summary:  This article presents the history and scientific advances made in the field of cloning.
Subjects:  Bioethics, Cell nuclei, Transplantation, Cloning, Genetic engineering, Human cloning, Recombinant DNA, Stem cells, Somatic cell nuclear transfer, Cloning, Timeline, Stem cells, Timeline, Genetic engineering, Timeline, Bioethics, Timeline, Human cloning, Timeline

Summary:  This timeline highlights some of the many discoveries and advancements in the field of genetic engineering.
Subjects:  Bioethics, Cloning, Genetic engineering, Genetic recombination, Genetic transformation, Recombinant DNA, Stem cells, Cloning, Timeline, Stem cells, Timeline, Genetic engineering, Timeline, Bioethics, Timeline

Summary:  This article presents the history and scientific advances made in the field of human cloning.
Subjects:  Bioethics, Cloning, Genetic engineering, Human cloning, Stem cells, Cloning, Timeline, Bioethics, Timeline, Human cloning, Timeline

Summary:  This article presents a history of stem cell research.
Subjects:  Bioethics, Embryonic stem cells, Genetic engineering, Stem cells, Adult stem cells, Stem cells, Law and legislation, Cloning, Timeline, Stem cells, Timeline, Genetic engineering, Timeline, Bioethics, Timeline, Human cloning, Timeline

Summary:   "Others argue that cloning is unnatural. But nature wants us to pass on our genes; if cloning assists in that effort, nature would not be offended. Moreover, cloning itself isn't new; there have been many species that reproduced clonally and a few that still do." (Wired) This point-of-view article discusses why we should embrace cloning, and correlates it to an act of natural reproduction.
Subjects:  Cloning, DNA, Ethics, Genetic engineering, Genetic transformation, Geneticists, Human cloning, Human cloning, Moral and ethical aspects, Cloning, Moral and ethical aspects

Summary:   "Thousands of dogs and horses with degenerative arthritis have had stem cell treatments, costing around US$2,500 to US$3,000 per procedure. There are no independent studies verifying their effectiveness, and some experts say such studies are needed to assess their potential....Vet-Stem, a Poway, California-based company, is developing the stem cell therapy and began treating horses in 2003. It derives stem cells from fat samples taken from dogs and horses across the country." (Prince George Citizen) This article investigates the gains being made in stem cell treatment through veterinary implementation. Details of how the cells are created, utilized, and their future potential applications are provided.
Subjects:  Gene therapy, Genetic engineering, Stem cells, Transgenic animals, Veterinarians

Summary:   "[Carrie] Buck was the first victim of a 1924 sterilization law, 8,300 Virginians had involuntary sterilization until the practice was stopped in the 1970s. The law itself was repealed in 1974. "It was startling," says [Paul] Lombardo, 59, now a legal historian at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He had not known of eugenics -- the "science" of human improvement through controlled breeding -- as more than a vague concept. Learning that there had been many eugenics programs in the United States in the 20th century and that the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in favor of Buck's sterilization amazed him." ( USA Today ) In this article, details of the checkered history of eugenics in the United States are discussed, including the pivotal story of the Buck sisters of Virginia, whose sterilization case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. Views on medical ethics are provided.
Subjects:  Eugenics, Genetic engineering, Human reproduction, Medical ethics, Sterilization (Birth control), Sterilization, Eugenic, Sterilization

Summary:   "The biotechnology community strongly supports Obama's action to remove the ban. But this is just a first step toward moving from the promise of research to therapies and cures for patients. Public funding only supports the initial stages of research...[L]ess than 2 percent of biotechnology funding comes from government sources. It is private capital that finances the 'transitional' research needed to turn in-lab advances into usable medicines." (McClatchy - Tribune News Service) This article reports on the measures needed to be taken in the wake of the lift on federally funded stem-cell research, and discusses the avenues for those in the biotechnology industry which will lead to prosperous results.
Subjects:  Biotechnology, Biotechnology, Research, Embryonic stem cells, Genetic engineering, Stem cells, Medicine, Research, Finance

Summary:   "Scientists have developed what appears to be a safer way to create a promising alternative to embryonic stem cells, boosting hopes that such cells could sidestep the moral and political quagmire that has hindered the development of a new generation of cures. The researchers produced the cells by using strands of genetic material, instead of potentially dangerous genetically engineered viruses, to coax skin cells into a state that appears biologically identical to embryonic stem cells....The alternative cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, appear to have many of the same characteristics as embryonic stem cells but are produced by activating genes in adult cells to 'reprogram' them into a more primitive state, bypassing the moral, political and ethical issues surrounding embryonic cells. Until now, however, their use has been limited because the genetic manipulation required the use of viruses, raising concerns the cells could cause cancer if placed in a patient. That has triggered a race to develop alternative approaches." (Washington Post) The discovery of a new method for reprogramming adult stells to become stem cells is reported.
Subjects:  Embryonic stem cells, Genetic engineering, Medical innovations, Medicine, Research, Stem cells

Summary:   "Opening the barn door to a new era in farming and pharmaceuticals, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first drug produced by livestock that have been given a human gene. The drug, meant to prevent fatal blood clots in people with a rare condition, is a human protein extracted from the milk of genetically engineered goats. At the same time, the F.D.A. also approved the goats used to make the drug, the first such animals cleared under guidelines the agency adopted only last month to regulate the use of transgenic animals in the nation's drug and food supply." (New York Times) This article discusses how although "proponents say such 'pharm animals' could become a means of producing biotechnology drugs at lower cost or in greater quantities than the existing methods....turning animals into walking drug producers does not sit well with some environmental advocates and animal rights activists."
Subjects:  Genetic engineering, Genetic engineering industry, Genetic engineering, Government policy, Genetic engineering, Risk assessment, Pharmaceutical biotechnology, Transgenic animals, U.S. Food and Drug Adm.

Summary:   "Rats fed GM potatoes had smaller livers, hearts, testicles and brains, damaged immune systems, and showed structural changes in their white blood cells making them more vulnerable to infection and disease compared to other rats fed non-GM potatoes. It got worse. Thymus and spleen damage showed up; enlarged tissues, including the pancreas and intestines; and there were cases of liver atrophy as well as significant proliferation of stomach and intestines cells that could be a sign of greater future risk of cancer." (New African) This article presents a view against genetically modified (GM) foods, detailing their risks, and the hidden agenda behind the industries and proponents that are pushing them.
Subjects:  Agricultural biotechnology, Agriculture, Developing countries, Food contamination, Food industry and trade, Food supply, Food, Biotechnology, Food, Health aspects, Genetic engineering, North American Free Trade Agreement, Plant biotechnology, Transgenic plants, Genetically modified foods, Food and nutrition, Global impact

Summary:   "Clearly, technology has outpaced our laws....Congress should step in and provide the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] with adequate authority to address the full range of environmental concerns that engineered animals might pose, including the power to 'recall' such animals if problems arise after commercialization. Congress should also eliminate the current confidentiality requirements so that safety data submitted to FDA and the agency's analysis of that data can be reviewed by outside experts before GE [genetically engineered] animals are approved. And the FDA should be directed to consult with other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about potential risks." (McClatchy Newspapers) The author argues that "without a regulatory process that is thorough and transparent, there is no chance that American consumers will--or should--have confidence in the safety or environmental-harmlessness of" genetically engineered animals.
Subjects:  Animal genetic engineering, Genetic engineering, Genetic engineering industry, Genetic engineering, Government policy, U.S. Food and Drug Adm., Food animals

Summary:   "A UC San Diego pharmacologist and two other U.S.-based scientists won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday [Oct. 9, 2008] for their development of a green fluorescent protein from jellyfish that has provided researchers their first new window into the workings of the cell since the development of the microscope. Roger Y. Tsien, 56, of UC San Diego; Martin Chalfie, 61, of Columbia University; and Osamu Shimomura, 80, a Japanese-born researcher who works at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., will share the $1.4-million prize for developing the protein that the Nobel committee called 'a guiding star for biochemists, biologists, medical scientists and other researchers.' The protein can be attached to any of the 10,000 individual molecules within a living cell, allowing researchers for the first time to trace their paths as they wind through the complex pathways of life." (Los Angeles Times) The announcement of the 2008 Nobel Chemistry Prize winners and their discoveries in the area of bioluminescent cytology are reported.
Subjects:  Bioluminescence assay, Cytology, Research, Fluorescence microscopy, Genetic engineering, Nobel Prizes

Summary:  "Japanese scientists have demonstrated a new way to reprogram cells without viruses, an important advance toward the goal of one day turning our own cells into a powerful tool to fight a wide range of diseases. The new technique...appears to be both safer and simpler than previous methods, bypassing the cancer risk associated with using viruses and genes that remain inside a cell. The Japanese team led by Shinya Yamanaka, of Kyoto University and the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, delivered the reprogramming genes into mouse cells with plasmids. Plasmids are essentially small, very stable circles of DNA." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) The discovery of a new method for reprogramming adult stells to become stem cells without the use of viruses is reported.
Subjects:  Genetic engineering, Medical innovations, Medicine, Research, Plasmids, Stem cells

Summary:   "Scientists reported yesterday [Sept. 25, 2008] that they have overcome a major obstacle to using a promising alternative to embryonic stem cells, bolstering prospects for bypassing the political and ethical tempest that has embroiled hopes for a new generation of medical treatments. The researchers said they found a safe way to coax adult cells to regress into an embryonic state, alleviating what had been the most worrisome uncertainty about developing the cells into potential cures." (Washington Post) In this report on the latest development in the "rapidly advancing and politically charged field of stem cell research," the author explains how researchers have substituted harmless adenovirusues for potentially carcinogenic retroviruses as the means to reprogram adult cells. The resulting induced pluipotent stem cells (iPS cells) are touted as a socially acceptable alternative to embryonic stem cells and demonstrate that the practical obstacles associated with iPS cells can be resolved.
Subjects:  Bioethics, Embryonic stem cells, Genetic engineering, Medical ethics, Medical innovations, Stem cells, Adult stem cells

Summary:  "The Food and Drug Administration will release today [Sept. 18, 2008] long-awaited regulatory guidelines governing genetic engineering of animals for food, drugs or medical devices. Although none of the provisions is likely to surprise the biotech industry, their formal appearance after years of discussion is expected to energize a field whose commercial potential is huge but so far unrealized. The agency's regulatory control of animals will be considerably stronger than its oversight of genetically engineered plants and microorganisms. The latter--or substances derived from them--are on the market and, in some cases, have proved controversial. The guidelines tell companies what the FDA wants to know about their work at virtually every stage of creating an engineered animal." (Washington Post) The FDA's announcement of formal guidelines for the commercial use of transgenic animals amid concerns over their safety is reported.
Subjects:  Animal genetic engineering, Bioethics, Biotechnology industries, Genetic engineering, Genetic engineering industry, Genetic engineering, Government policy, Transgenic animals, U.S. Food and Drug Adm.

Summary:  "Scientists have transformed one type of fully developed adult cell directly into another inside a living animal, a startling advance that could lead to cures for a variety of illnesses and sidestep the political and ethical quagmires associated with embryonic stem cell research. Through a series of painstaking experiments involving mice, the Harvard biologists pinpointed three crucial molecular switches that, when flipped, completely convert a common cell in the pancreas into the more precious insulin-producing ones that diabetics need to survive. The experiments…raise the prospect that patients suffering from not only diabetes but also heart disease, strokes and many other ailments could eventually have some of their cells reprogrammed to cure their afflictions without the need for drugs, transplants or other therapies." (Washington Post) The author reports on a recent medical breakthrough allowing scientists to transform of one type of pancreatic cell into another in laboratory mice that may supplant the need for controversial embryonic stem cell research.
Subjects:  Cellular therapy, Diabetes, Research, Embryonic stem cells, Genetic engineering, Medical innovations, Mice as laboratory animals, Stem cells

Summary:   "Scientists are advancing slowly toward one of the most audacious goals humans have ever set for themselves: creating artificial life. They've already accomplished some steps needed to construct a simple, single-celled organism that's capable of evolving and reproducing itself - basic requirements for life. 'We have made considerable progress,' said Jack Szostak, an artificial life investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. 'Any prediction like this is just a guess, but I'm hoping we'll have a synthetic cell in under 10 years.'…Other experts, however, said it might take decades or centuries before scientists would be able to 'create life from scratch,' as the quest is colloquially known." (McClatchy Newspapers) Efforts to develop a unique set of genes in the laboratory, along with a selectively permeable cell membrane to house them, and thus create the first truly synthetic cell are reported.
Subjects:  Biotechnology, Cytology, Research, Genetic engineering, Genetics, Research, Life (Biology), Synthetic biology

Summary:  In this profile of J. Craig Venter, the noted biologist responsible for such genetic breakthroughs as the completion of the human genome map and genetically reprogramming one bacteria to become another, the author outlines how the scientist created the first-ever human-synthesized life form, mycoplasma genitalium ( Genny for short). "Venter chose Genny not so much because her simplicity made synthesis easier, but rather because her genetic parsimony allowed his team to distinguish the minimum genome that a new species would require in order to survive and reproduce. With that mystery sufficiently solved, scientists can now move on to the next crucial stage. Genny , of course, was only the beginning for Venter, who predicts that synthetically engineered microbes will soon revolutionize a host of essential industries and institutions." (Humanist)
Subjects:  Gene mapping, Genetic engineering, Geneticists, Genomes, Bacterial genetics, Genomics

Summary:  "Scientists have seen the future of sport. It involves mice that can lift three times the average, humans that can run 90-minute marathons, and ligament tears that can be fixed by injection. It is genetic engineering, therapy and doping, and it is the arrival of the bionic athlete. At the extreme, this is either the advancement or end of the human race. At the minimum, it is the unavoidable change to the way our sports--baseball, football, the Olympics, you name it--are played." (Kansas City Star) This article considers the potential impact of gene doping on sports.
Subjects:  Athletes, Drug use, Doping in sports, Gene therapy, Genetic engineering, Genetic engineering, Moral and ethical aspects, Genetic transformation, Somatotropin, Steroids

Summary:   "University of California-Davis professor James Murray knows his experiments with human genes and goats give some people the creeps. Crossing anything human with four-legged hoofers evokes images of mythical half-man, half-animal centaurs from ancient Greece. In reality, genetically altered goats look and behave no differently than regular ones....Murray and fellow animal scientist Elizabeth Maga engineered a small herd of Alpine and Toggenburg dairy goats to produce high levels of a human antibiotic-like protein in their milk. Just as mother's milk helps protect infants from germs, the researchers figured, humanized goat's or cow's milk would better defend dairy animals and their offspring from illness. Germ-fighting milk might also slow spoilage, prolonging the shelf life of dairy products. The scientists' ultimate question, though, is a humanitarian one: Could the same procedure produce fortified powdered milk and, eventually, genetically modified goat herds for poor regions of the world?" (Sacramento Bee) The potential development of a genetically-modified version of goats milk containing high concentrations of the beneficial protein lysozyme is discussed.
Subjects:  Animal experimentation, Animal genetic engineering, Food, Biotechnology, Genetic engineering, Transgenic animals, Goats as laboratory animals, Genetically modified foods

Summary:  In this article about genetically modified animals, the author raises questions about whether government regulation adequately ensures the safety of consumers, animals and the environment. "The subtext of any discussion about the science of GE [genetically engineered] animals is whether this is something the public wants or is ready for. Regulation, if done well, would increase consumer confidence in the efficacy and safety of the animals. But the different ways government has proposed regulating such new 'products' raises concerns from consumer and environmental groups, and a 2002 National Academy of Sciences Commission." (Toronto Star)
Subjects:  Bioethics, Cloning, Food, Biotechnology, Genetic engineering, Genetic engineering, Government policy, Genetic engineering, Moral and ethical aspects, Transgenic animals, Food animals, Bioethics and Cloning, Global impact

Summary:  This profile of biologist J. Craig Venter highlights his creation of the first human-crafted genome. "He was the leader of one of two teams that in 2000 sequenced the human genome--the entire 25,000-gene cookbook that makes us people in the first place and not chimps or birds or banana trees--and he has conducted the same work with many other organisms. But Venter, 61, may have just done something that is at once more thrilling and promising and unsettling than all that. According to a just-released [Jan. 24, 2008] paper in the journal Science , he has gone beyond merely sequencing a genome and has designed and built one. In other words, he may have created life." (Time)
Subjects:  Gene mapping, Genetic engineering, Geneticists, Genetics, Research, Genomes, Bacterial genetics, Genomics, Venter, J. Craig, Synthetic biology

Summary:  "A growing chorus of medical researchers say our bacteria-killing zealotry is misguided. Instead of fighting bugs, they argue, we should train them to do our bidding and then set them loose in our bodies. The trouble is keeping them there....But the few microbes that have made it into limited human trials--a cavity stopper, a tumor destroyer, a bowel soother--have been enticingly successful. And so the first standoff over body-ready bugs is taking place before the review boards of medical centers and government regulatory agencies, the people who will decide if the world is ready for engineered superbugs." (Popular Science) This article reviews the therapeutic potential of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to prevent dental cavities, fight Crohn's disease and cancer, and prevent tuberculosis and other infections.
Subjects:  Bioengineering, Biomedical engineering, Cancer, Treatment, Dental technology, Genetic engineering, Transgenic organisms, Enteritis, Regional, Bacterial genetics, Probiotics, Biotherapy