Can Algae Survive in the Cold and Radiation of Space?

Welcome to Miniposts, a series of articles based on posts made to the Bioscription Facebook page. Due to their often lengthy nature, it was decided that reposting them to the main site was appropriate. Please go here to view the original post. The International Space Station (ISS) is the perfect place for new and exciting […]

Horizontal Gene Transfer in Plants: More Common Than You’d Think

Welcome to Miniposts, a series of articles based on posts made to the Bioscription Facebook page. Due to their often lengthy nature, it was decided that reposting them to the main site was appropriate. Please go here to view the original post. How common is transgenic gene transfer between organisms in the wild? Depending on […]

Modified CRISPR/Cas9 Creates Tuberculosis-Resistant Cows

Welcome to Miniposts, a series of articles based on posts made to the Bioscription Facebook page. Due to their often lengthy nature, it was decided that reposting them to the main site was appropriate. Please go here to view the original post. A significant accomplishment with CRISPR has been recently achieved. You may have heard […]

Let’s Make A Brain: Stem Cells, CRISPR, and Cerebral Organoids

Perfectly mapping and even regrowing parts of a brain has long been something only considered to be a thing in science fiction. The technology has always seemed like it was centuries away from ever becoming a reality. But, day by day, researchers continue to develop new techniques and methods that push the boundaries of what […]

Debunking Pseudoscientists: RNA From Food Can’t Change Your Genes

As science progresses, new methods are developed to accomplish tasks. Some help medical and agricultural science work faster, others allow completely news ways of doing things. In the business of promoting new crop traits, CRISPR is one example of a revolutionary new technology that opens up new avenues. But it isn’t the only one. In […]

Monsanto’s Bt Corn: Saving Africa One Seed at a Time

Corn has become one of the primary crops grown in Africa over the years, largely in subsistence farming to feed populations. Being a versatile crop that can grow in a variety of environments, especially warmer ones, it is no surprise that corn cultivation has thrived in Africa. Such as in South Africa that has been […]

Beating Back Viruses with CRISPR and Genetically Modified Rockcress

Agriculture is a constant battle against viruses and bacteria, while farmers try to protect their crops through the means available to them. The cost of yield losses and undesirable crops worldwide due to these invaders is an astronomical number every single year. Thus, any opportunity to provide protection against a wide swath of the attackers […]

Protein Render Cancer

Motor protein involvement in cancer formation in GMO mice

Sadly for all researchers in the field, the way cancer works is highly varied and dependent on the specific type. Because of that, each different type of cancer has to be investigated separately and all of the mechanisms involved deciphered one by one, meaning any proper treatment or cure for a single type of cancer […]

Banana Bunchy Top Virus: A Century Old Killer

Crop diseases have always been one of the main combatants in the war between farmers and nature. Regardless of the source, whether viral, bacterial, fungal, or other, diseases that affect plant health, growth, and production have devastated every type of crop ever grown. It has only been through strenuous effort that farmers have fought back […]

Book Review: Pandora’s Picnic Basket

First published in 2000 under the title A Consumer’s Guide to GM Food: From Green Genes to Red Herrings, this book was devised by scientist Alan McHughen to act as a fundamental guide to agricultural biotechnology, how it works, and what the science has achieved. It was retitled to Pandora’s Picnic Basket when released in […]