Researchers from the Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products of the Russian Federation analyzed the existing international experience and regulatory requirements relating to the development of medicinal products based in genome editing of postnatal somatic cells. Somatic cell genome-editing systems are one of the last technologies in gene therapy for treatment of monogenic hereditary cancer or HIV

An international research team led by scientists from the Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has released the pan-genome of Setaria or foxtail millet, an important cereal crop. Together with scientists from New York University (NYU), the research advances the understanding of foxtail millet domestication and evolution, as well as the genetic basis for important agricultural traits.

The course is a capacity building initiative of ISAAA Inc. and the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC). It was first organized in 2018 as a platform for Asian scientists and regulators to be more competent in the regulations and policies related to biotechnology. Since then, the short course has been offered to promote strong collaboration among key biotechnology stakeholders for science and regulation to co-evolve and bring the benefits of modern biotechnology to society, while reducing its potential risks.

A study conducted at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University has found that the likelihood of extreme temperatures affecting crop yields has increased significantly in wheat-producing regions of the United States and China. The study also predicts that heat waves that happened approximately once every hundred years in 1981 are now likely to happen once every six years in the Midwestern U.S. and once every 16 years in Northeastern China.

The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) has pledged support in co-organizing the largest gathering of the stakeholders of rice-based food systems worldwide in the Philippines this coming October with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). “Rice is one of the priority areas of the Philippine government to achieve food self-sufficiency and improve the lives of Filipino farmers. At IRC 2023, we can learn about recent advancements in genetic, digital, and nature-based solutions, offering valuable insights to address the various challenges faced by the rice industry in the Philippines,”

The ocean is key to global food security, the livelihoods of over 600 million people, and essential to transforming agrifood systems, according to Manuel Barange, Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Barange, a top marine scientist, is currently bringing all his expertise, among other initiatives, to help countries lead a Blue Transformation to sustainably expand aquatic food systems to benefit both people and planet, leaving no one behind.

“The Agrobiodiversity Index has done something that has never been tried before”, said the announcement of our researchers winning the Food Planet Prize, one of the most important environmental awards in the world. The news was broken today, June 9th, in Stockholm, Sweden, by the Curt Bergfors Foundation after a year-long process of selecting and shortlisting more than 1,000 nominations.

Michigan State University researchers and partners reviewed the sustainable access to quality seeds of genetically engineered Bt cotton in Eastern Africa and recommended improved public-private partnerships. Their review article is published in the journal GM Crops and Food. Genetically engineered Bt cotton varieties contribute solutions to challenges in crop losses and productivity. In Eastern Africa, Bt cotton has been commercially approved in Sudan (2012)

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO Panel) has published its assessment on the safety of the six-event stack genetically modified (GM) herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant maize Bt11 × MIR162 × MIR604 × MON 89034 × 5307 × GA21. The Scientific Opinion is published based on the application EFSA-GMO-DE-2018-149 under Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 received from Syngenta Crop Protection NV/SA.

The US Environment Protection Agency has announced that it will exempt gene-edited plants from rigorous assessment procedures if the change is also possible to be attained through traditional breeding methods. In the US, the EPA, together with the US Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is tasked to regulate biotech crops. In 2022, the USDA announced an exemption for gene-edited trait changes in plants that already exist naturally in a sexually compatible plant.