EU Leaders Vote to Allow Individual Nations to Ban GM Crops

European leaders took a big step toward keeping genetically modified crops out of the continent’s fields earlier this week when they supported a plan that would give individual nations the right to ban GMOs – even if they’re approved by the European Union . Reuters reports that Europe is a continent divided when it comes to GMO crops. Countries like France and Germany eschew them, while others like Britain are in favor. Read the rest of EU Leaders Vote to Allow Individual Nations to Ban GM Crops Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: ban , EU , european union , foods , genetically , GM , GMO , government , modified , organisms , parliament , policiticans

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EU Leaders Vote to Allow Individual Nations to Ban GM Crops

USDA Approves Genetically Modified “Innate Potato”

Last week, the USDA approved a genetically engineered potato, known as the Innate Potato. Created and trademarked by Simplot,  the new potato “has 40% less bruise” than regular potatoes and doesn’t turn brown after it’s cut, thereby reducing food wastage . It’s also lower in the amino acid asparagine, which oxidizes into a suspected human carcinogen when potatoes are cooked at high temperatures, such as when making french fries or potato chips. One of Simplot’s biggest customers is McDonald’s , and the company is already being lobbied by anti-GMO campaigners to not accept Simplot’s new offering, despite its touted benefits. Read the rest of USDA Approves Genetically Modified “Innate Potato” Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: acrylamide , asparagine , GE crops , GE potato , genetically engineered , genetically modified foods , GM , GM potato , GMO , GMO crops , mcdonalds , Monsanto , potato , RNA interference , Simplot , usda

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USDA Approves Genetically Modified “Innate Potato”

Scientists Train Genetically Modified E. coli Bacteria to Mass Produce Super Strong Spider’s Silk

Spider’s silk is such an amazing and versatile substance, it’s hard not to get the feeling that Mother Nature intended it for much more than a sticky web in the corner. This seemingly insignificant thread is equal to steel in tensile strength while maintaining the flexibility of rubber. It conducts heat 800 times better than any other organic material, is tougher than Kevlar , and has been used to make everything from violin strings to computer chips . The only problem is, spiders aren’t easy to farm. So until recently, it’s been difficult to harvest enough spider silk to do anything at commercial scale. But what if something else could be taught to produce spider’s silk in mass quantities? Something that loves to reproduce…like bacteria. Read the rest of Scientists Train Genetically Modified E. coli Bacteria to Mass Produce Super Strong Spider’s Silk Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: AMSilk , bacteria , e.coli , genetically modified E. coli , mass produced spider silk , spider silk , spider silk from bacteria , spider web , varieties of silk        

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Scientists Train Genetically Modified E. coli Bacteria to Mass Produce Super Strong Spider’s Silk

Italian Scientists are Developing Genetically Modified Hypoallergenic Apples

A team of allergists, molecular biologists and plant physiologists in Italy are collaborating to develop a hypo-allergenic apple that could represent the next frontier in genetically-modified foods. Apples aren’t typically known as a potent allergen — at worst, they may cause your tongue and lips to become itchy and blister. But the team of scientists is using the apple as a test case, and they’re trying to decode the genetic markers that cause some people to experience an allergic reaction to apples. The technique is likely to be controversial because it involves genetic modification , and there’s concern that modifying the genetic makeup of an apple could produce other unexpected allergens. Read the rest of Italian Scientists are Developing Genetically Modified Hypoallergenic Apples Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: apple allergy , food allergies , genetic modification , genetically modified foods , gmo apples , GMO foods , hypo-allergenic apple , hypo-allergenic foods , hypoallergenic apple , hypoallergenic foods , non gmo

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Italian Scientists are Developing Genetically Modified Hypoallergenic Apples

This Modified Desktop Computer Uses its Own Heat to Grow Plants

Mike Schropp of TotalGeekdom has combined technology and the natural world with his modified desktop computer that uses its own heat to grow plants! The compact DIY unit allows the plants — in this instance, wheatgrass — to flourish in an office space with limited sunlight, in what could be considered the very definition of green computing. Read the rest of This Modified Desktop Computer Uses its Own Heat to Grow Plants Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: bio computer , computer plants , computer wheatgrass , green computer plant , green computing , mike schropp , total geekdom

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This Modified Desktop Computer Uses its Own Heat to Grow Plants

Crisp Warburg House Sets the Bar for Super Energy-Efficiency in Canada

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Crisp Warburg House Sets the Bar for Super Energy-Efficiency in Canada

Study Reveals That Seagrass Stores More Carbon Than Trees

Seagrass Photo from Shutterstock The destruction of rainforests has long been a huge cause of concern for environmentalists due to trees’ ability to capture carbon — however a new collaborative study published in the journal of Nature Geoscience has found that seagrass can actually store more carbon per square mile than forests can . The plants, which populate coastal wetlands, could play a major role in combating climate change. Read the rest of Study Reveals That Seagrass Stores More Carbon Than Trees Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: ocean carbon , seagrass carbon storage , seagrass climate change , seagrass environment , seagrass florida international university , seagrass study , seagrass university of virginia , wetlands restoration

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Study Reveals That Seagrass Stores More Carbon Than Trees

Microsoft Bans Nearly a Million Xbox Users, Now Crippled Consoles Are Flooding the Market

Photo via Collin Allen After discovering nearly a million users had modified their consoles to play pirated games via the Xbox live service, Microsoft gave them the boot from the service and now the modified consoles are making their way onto the market by the hundreds, with more likely to follow. The ban works on the console, not the user’s account, which means Xbox consoles useless for the Xbox Live service are being sold everywhere from eBay to Craigslist, creating a bit of an e-waste

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Microsoft Bans Nearly a Million Xbox Users, Now Crippled Consoles Are Flooding the Market

Indonesia Scores One For Press Repression & Environmental Destruction – Reporters, Activists Deported

The sort of destruction trying to be prevented… photo: Greenpeace

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Indonesia Scores One For Press Repression & Environmental Destruction – Reporters, Activists Deported