A study published in Nature looks at the new version of AlphaFold for protein structure predictions. Dr Nicole Wheeler, Birmingham Fellow, … read more
The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill is due to be introduced in the House of Lords on Wednesday 25 May. … read more
The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, removing barriers to research into new gene editing technology, will be introduced in Parliament … read more
Comment on GM and genetic technologies regulation after Boris Johnson’s comments about bio-sciences in his first speech as Prime Minister … read more
Over 850,000 people in the UK are living with dementia – most of them still at home. Obviously lots of … read more
Research published in The BMJ warns that the sharing of user data by popular health apps is routine and not … read more
The explosion of technology has the potential to transform healthcare, allowing patients to wear devices and use apps to monitor and improve their health, and for appointments and records to be used in a smarter, more joined-up way. read more
The Science and Technology Select Committee of the House of Commons has released a report on the regulation of GM techniques in agriculture, suggesting that they should be regulated in a similar way to other technologies. read more
The SMC invited one of the UK’s leading experts on GM animals, Professor Helen Sang, to describe some of the on-going applications of GM technologies in farm animals and the issues around regulation and public acceptance. read more
Synthetic biology is being touted as the new revolution that will enable biology to do for us what harnessing physics and chemistry have done in the past. But given the history of new technologies stumbling at the starting block, why should synthetic biology be any different?
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A paper in the journal Nature Biotechnology outlined how an gene found in wild varieties of rice has been incorporated into domesticated rice to provide tolerance to highly saline soils. read more
As BASF announced it would relocate its transgenic plant operations from Europe to the USA due to a “lack of acceptance for this technology”, the SMC circulated reaction from plant scientists. read more
An Academy working group published a report on the scientific, ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of animals containing human genetic material in research. read more
The American geneticist and entrepreneur Craig Venter has announced that his team has succeeded in assembling an artificial genome from scratch and inserted it into the cell,which then took on the characteristics of the transferred genome and passed these on to its progeny. read more
Speakers: Prof Robert Langer, David H. Koch Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof Robert Langer’s research laboratory at MIT … read more
Industrial biotechnology encompasses a huge number of applications both within industry and in our everyday lives, including bioplastics to prolong the shelf life of food, enzymes in washing powder for use at lower temperatures, production of insulin for diabetics, and refinement of bioethanol from factory waste. The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation and Growth Team (IB-IGT), an independent body of experts from academia and industry established in November 2007, published their report to government this month, and key contributors presented their findings at the Science Media Centre. read more
Biotech breakthroughs are transforming the worlds of health and agriculture offering the promise of drought resistant plants, new medicines and energy sources. Yet some feel that the current system of intellectual proerty rights is fundamentally flawed. A Montreal-based international team of experts in biotechnology, law, ethics and economics has released a new report which will be presented to UK policy makers and NGOs next week. Drawing on data collected over the past seven years, the study portrays a crucially important but increasingly dysfunctional industry that relies on a business model based on outdated conceptions of intellectual property. The lead author of the report came to the SMC to prevent its main findings. read more
It is over 10 years since the birth of Dolly the cloned sheep was announced. Since then, research in the field has advanced quickly and it is predicted that cloned meat will enter the foodchain, somewhere in the world, in the next 5 years. Before then it is likely that the offspring of cloned animals will be introduced. The Science Media Centre invited experts on animal cloning and biotechnology to brief the media on issues including how soon cloned meat could enter the food chain and what the potential benefits of this could be in terms of the cost and environmental impact of food. read more
As they come to London for an international conference organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, Institute of Physics and BBSRC, we welcome world renowned experts on bionanotechnology to brief journalists. read more
The Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commision (AEBC) published its report “Animals and Biotechnology”, calling for new ground rules for GM and cloned animals in agriculture. read more
