Institute of Science in Society; Science, Society, Sustainability

Search the ISIS website

Google
  ISIS members area log in
     

Views and goods advertized are not necessarily endorsed by Science in Society or the Inst. of Science in Society.




Genetic Engineering - Conceptual Articles

Ban GMOs Now
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho warns that further indulgence in GMOs will severely damage our chances of surviving the food crisis and global warming; organic agriculture and localised food systems are the way forward
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 4th June 2008

Horizontal Gene Transfer from GMOs Does Happen
Recent evidence confirms that transgenic DNA does jump species to bacteria and even plant and animals, as some of us had predicted
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins 10th March 2008

GM Contamination At 21 km and Farther. No Co-Existence Possible
Researchers find GM pollen cross-pollinated non-GM plants at 21 km and predict much worse
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 27th June 2007

Plant Steroids in Transgenic Plants Safe for Humans?
There are too many similarities between plant and animal steroids for them to be presumed safe
Prof. Joe Cummins 30th March 2006

GM Contamination Accelerating No Co-Existence Possible
Untried and untested GM crops are out of the bottle even in the UK where no GM crops are commercially grown
Rhea Gala 16th December 2005

Outsourcing Ecological and Health Risks & Reducing Scientists to Bio-coolies for Industry
Dr. Vandana Shiva condemns India's New Biotechnology Development Strategy
Dr. Vandana Shiva 23rd September 2005

No to Releases of Transgenic Plants with Antimicrobial Peptides
Anti-microbial peptides provide the first line of defence against invading microbes in both plants and animals
Prof. Joe Cummins and Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 19th September 2005

Hybrid Seed
Hybrid seed was the first step whereby agribusiness corporations wrested control of seed away from farmers
Prof. Joe Cummins and Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 2nd September 2005

Biotech Wonder Tool in Disarray
DNA sequence information can't predict the rich tapestry of life, and researchers are turning to analysing downstream processes using the biotech microarray wonder tool, only to end in disarray
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 23rd March 2005

No Biotech Revolution in Sight
Governments are sinking further billions into genomics and related research but a new study finds no sign of revolution in healthcare
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 21st March 2005

How to Keep in Concert
One of the biggest puzzles of the fluid genome is why multiple copies of a gene scattered throughout the genome can be kept so nearly identical, which may be good for the organism. But the mechanism responsible has its downside in converting healthy genes to defective ones when cells are stressed.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 20th September 2004

Are Ultra-conserved Elements Indispensable?
Geneticists identified elements in the genome that are 'ultra-conserved', and thought they must be indispensable for survival. Not so.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 16th September 2004

To Mutate or Not to Mutate
Contrary to views widely held not so long ago, genes do not as a rule mutate at random, and cells may choose what, or at least, when to mutate.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 15th September 2004

Subverting the Genetic Text
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho exposes the hidden intrigues in the vast RNA underworld where layers of interference and machinations subvert the chain of command from DNA to RNA to protein.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 9th September 2004

Caring Mothers Reduce Response to Stress for Life
How a rat responds to stress depends on whether its mother cared for it properly as a pup, which marks its genes for life
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 7th September 2004

Death of the Central Dogma
It is amazing how much scientific and religious fundamentalism have in common. The late Francis Crick won the Nobel Prize jointly with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins for working out the structure of DNA; and rather like the new 'Potentate' of biology, issued the "Central Dogma" to the faithful, which decreed that genetic information flows linearly from DNA to RNA to protein, and never in reverse. That was just another way of saying that organisms are hardwired in their genetic makeup, and that the environment has little if any influence on the structure and function of the genes.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 3rd September 2004

Broken Promises
Will GM crops really help developing countries?Lim Li Ching looks at some telling examples in Kenya, Indonesia and India.
Lim Li Ching 12th May 2004

Transgenic Fish Coming
Prof. Joe Cummins exposes the regulatory vacuum behind the rush for commercial release of transgenic fish
Prof. Joe Cummins 14th December 2003

Transgenic Trees Spread Mercury Poisoning
Is moving mercury from place to place really remediation?
Joe Cummins 18th September 2003

GM Crops Irrelevant for Africa
Damning report concludes GM crops do not address the real causes of poverty and hunger in Africa
Jonathan Matthews 18th September 2003

New Terminator Crops Coming
Gaining control over seed production using 'terminator' genetic modification has become a goal of genetic engineers. Prof. Joe Cummins and Dr. Mae-Wan Ho alert us to some new tricks in the pipelines, and the lies perpetrated to mislead the public
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins 12th July 2003

SARS Virus Genetically Engineered?
The mystery surrounding the SARS virus deepens. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho raises further questions on whether genetic engineering could have contributed to creating it
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 26th June 2003

Molecular Genetic Engineers in Junk DNA?
Much of the fluidity of the genome is due to mobile genetic elements that respond to physiological and environmental signals to recraft genes and genomes, creating new patterns of gene expression, new proteins and new evolutionary opportunities. But this fluidity also leaves the genome vulnerable to many environmental insults
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 25th June 2003

Ho Replies To Morton
Roger Morton's submission to the GM Science Review in response to the first submission from ISIS, "ISIS' response to ACRE's response to Chardon LL" contains some misrepresentations that I should like to put right
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 23rd April 2003

Chronicle of An Ecological Disaster Foretold
The GM oil seed rape varieties in UK's farm scale evaluations are terminator crops with in-built sterility to protect patented crop genes. Terminator crops like these had been vigorously rejected by farmers all over the world as it goes against their right to save and replant seeds. These crops are now being considered for commercial release in Europe.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins 20th February 2003

GM-free Food Aid!
GM food, rejected across the world because it is unsafe, continues to be dumped as ‘food aid’ (includes 'Famine as Commerce' by Devinda Sharma).
ISIS 7th August 2002

Sense & Nonsense in Horizontal Gene Transfer
What do most scientists do when faced with findings that threaten to topple the ruling paradigm? They describe the findings in detail, fail to interpret them correctly, and avoid discussing their practical implications, dismissing incriminating evidence.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 7th August 2002

Floating Transgenic Fish in a Leaky Triploid Craft
Transgenic fish have been launched with optimistic hopes that the fish will grow rapidly, use food efficiently and pose little threat to the native stocks. Prof. Joe Cummins reveals why those hopes don’t hold water
Prof. Joe Cummins 30th July 2002

GM DNA in Human Gut Underestimated
UK’s Food Standards Agency dismissed its new research findings that GM DNA in food has transferred to bacteria in the human gut. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho reveals how the experiment was designed to bias against positive findings, so the actual transfer of GM DNA could be much more extensive.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 21st July 2002

Patents on life patently undermine food security
Thousands gathered in London to demand trade justice for the developing world in a mass lobby of Parliament. They want trade rules that work for all, not just a few
Lim Li Ching 15th July 2002

Why Clone Humans?
Why is human cloning contemplated at all? To help infertile couples have children? To provide cells and tissues for transplant? Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins reveal how the scientific establishment is manipulating public opinion to support research that’s both morally and scientifically indefensible.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins 10th July 2002

Genetically Modified Humans: For What and for Whom?
‘Gene therapy’ has been aggressively pursued for more than twelve years with little success. The death of a healthy teenager in a clinical trial in 1999 alerted the public to the hazards involved.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins 6th July 2002

Genetically Modified Organisms 25 Years On
The GMO jubilee has come and gone. The predicted financial boom has not materialised, nor the promised benefits to agriculture and health. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins identify some of the fundamental reasons for the failures of the GMO enterprise.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins 4th July 2002

Comprehensive Evidence Against GM
ISIS Reply to WHO Questionnaire on Food Biotechnology
ISIS 3rd July 2002

Blair’s Biotech Vision Clouded
Blair’s vision of biotechnology and science is outmoded and out of touch with market reality. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho asks why Blair and other governments are throwing even more public money away at a sinking titanic of enterprises, while vital health and agricultural services are disintegrating for want of rational investments.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 23rd June 2002

Biotech Fever Burning, Burning Out?
Biotechnology is a risky business, according to a new study in the United States, the nation that leads the world in biotechnology. Nor is there likely to be a biotech boom resembling that of information technology.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 22nd June 2002

Pitfalls of Transgene Containment in Chloroplast
As transgenic contamination is becoming a big issue, biotech companies are proposing to put transgenes in the chloroplast genome instead of the nuclear genome in order to prevent them from spreading. Prof. Joe Cummins reveals the pitfalls.
Prof. Joe Cummins 19th June 2002

Denial Continues over Horizontal Gene Transfer
BBC drama, Fields of Gold, portraying the health risks of GM crops was subjected to astonishing attack and vilification orchestrated from within the heart of the scientific establishment. Why? Because it dares mention the forbidden H word.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 7th June 2002

FAQ on Genetic Engineering
Frequently Asked Questions on Genetic Engineering
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 2nd April 2002

More on Terminator and Related Patents
Terminator technology is a collection of genetic engineering tricks to make seeds sterile, so farmers cannot save and replant the seeds
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins 12th July 2001

The Human Genome - A Big White Elephant
Massive divestment of public research funding into health genomics is aimed at bailing out an industry already in trouble over GM crops.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 8th June 2001

Where Genes Fail - Dietary Interventions for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s?
Senior NIH scientist Richard Veech is developing a promising approach that will involve dietary intervention
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 25th April 2001

Human Genome -The Biggest Sellout in Human History
A multibillion bioinformatics ‘goldrush’ is on, as private companies scramble to mine the public database for genes to patent
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho 18th October 2000

Biotech Breakdown
Good Popular Article on Biotechnology
Susan D. Borowitz 1st June 2000

The Human Genome Map, the Death of Genetic Determinism and Beyond
The complete human genome map was announced just before Valentine’s day. But it was an anticlimax for the proponents
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho

The End of Bad Science and Beginning Again with Life
The debate on evolution between the creationists and the neo-Darwinists is not just sterile, it misses the central issue, which is that neo-Darwinism is wrong and dangerous.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho

The Biotechnology Bubble
One sign of big trouble in the biotech industry is when EuropaBio, a non-Government organization representing the interests of the industry, launched its multi-million pound campaign to win over European consumers last summer by engaging the services of Burson Marsteller
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, Hartmut Meyer, Prof. Joe Cummins

Recent Publications

Food Futures Now
Food Futures Now: *Organic *Sustainable *Fossil Fuel Free How organic agriculture and localised food (and energy) systems can potentially compensate for all greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities and free us from fossil fuels
Buy Now|More info

Science in Society magazine The only radical science magazine on earth
Science in Society 38 OUT NOW! Order your copy from our online store.


Genetic Engineering Dream or Nightmare





Genetic Engineering: Dream or Nightmare? New Reprint with Extended Introduction and Update by the Author
Buy Now|More info

GM Science Exposed
GM Science Exposed. A comprehensive dossier containing more than 160 fully referenced articles from the Science in Society archives.
Buy Now|More info

GMO Free: Exposing the Hazards of Biotechnology to Ensure the Integrity of our Food SupplyGMO Free: Exposing the Hazards of Biotechnology to Ensure the Integrity of our Food Supply
Buy Now|More info

Join the I-SIS mailing list; enter your email address html asci

I-SIS is a not-for-profit organisation, depending on donations, membership fees, subscriptions, and merchandise sales to continue its work. Find out more about membership here



The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 51885, London NW2 9DH
telephone:
  [44 20 8452 2729]   [44 20 7272 5636]

Contact the Institute of Science in Society

MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT EXPLICIT PERMISSION. FOR PERMISSION, PLEASE CONTACT enquiries@i-sis.org.uk