Prevent Sleeping Sickness with Genetically Engineered Bacteria

The use of the genetically engineered bacterium Sodalis glossinidius against the parasite Trypanosoma brucei could be a solution to control and prevent the fatal disease “sleeping sickness”.

African trypanosomiasis commonly called as sleeping sickness is a deadly endemic disease native of Africa. The disease is been continuously reported in majority of the population and the outcome of a recent study on the risk of infection among the population revealed the fact that about 69.3 million people are in the risk category of being infected.

Sleeping sickness is a parasitic infection caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Tsetse flies acts as a host for this particular protozoan species and aids the transmission of this parasite into humans through bites. Trypanosoma brucei enters the blood stream of a healthy individual following a bite by the tsetse fly and continue to multiply in the body fluid of the infected individual and has the potential to cross the blood brain barrier thus affecting the brain of the infected individual. Infection by this parasite deteriorates both physical and mental health of the individual and causes some disturbance in the regular sleep pattern, thus acquiring the name sleeping sickness. Also the transmission of the parasite from human to the tsetse fly occurs when the fly stings an infected person.

The rate of infection is accelerating due to the lack of proper prevention and treatment methods. Recently US research scientists spelled out the names of two bacteria Sodalis glossinidius which forms a part of the gut flora of the tsetse fly and Wolbachia which is established in the reproductive system of the fly as tools to prevent and control the Trypanosoma brucei infection. As a first step Sodalis glossinidius is genetically modified to express resistance to the Trypanosome brucei parasites present in the fly and with an effort to pass on the genetically reconstructed bacteria Sodalis glossinidius to successive fly population (progeny), the team used Wolbachia as a tool. Paratransgenesis is the method used which will ensure the absence of the parasite in successive progeny of the fly.The outcome of the research is identified as a fruitful approach in eliminating the deadly disease if established properly.

If the above discovery gets acknowledged in eradicating sleeping sickness then it will pave way for eradicating other insect transmitted diseases (e.g. Malaria) in a similar manner.

Reference

http://london-student.net/science/11/16/...-sickness/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_try...cite_ref-7
http://m.scidev.net/global/gm/news/gm-ba...kness.html
http://www.itg.be/itg/generalsite/Defaul...ID=252&L=E

The Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa

The term green revolution refers to all the technological developments that happened in the field of agriculture in the 1960s. This revolution started during the neo-colonial era when agriculture was viewed as a commercial activity rather than a subsistence activity led Norman Borlaug-a green revolution father. Green revolution started with a single private-public experiment with the Mexican wheat. Although the term Green Revolution initially meant development in wheat and rice, high yielding varieties have since then been incorporated in the system. These crops include major crops in developing countries such as sorghum, cassava, millet, maize, beans and millet. However, this historic transformation of traditional farming methods was not universal as it did not continue in Africa at that time.

 

Sub Saharan Africa contains sixteen countries of the eighteen most undernourished countries worldwide. This is because that region registers a continually worsening per-capita production of food yearly. This is happening despite having the largest population predominantly practicing small scale farming, being the most hunger and poverty stricken region and being the continent that receives the most attention from the international community.

In low-income regions elsewhere in the world like Colombia and Asia , the introduction of fertilizer, high-yield seeds and small-scale irrigation that began in the mid-1960s boosted food productivity and opened the escape route from extreme poverty for huge populations. This agricultural takeoff in sub-Saharan is an urgent need and a possibility. This part of Africa faces a myriad of challenges that can only be resolved by introduction of new methods that can revamp agricultural production so as to enable the region cater for its immensely growing population. Sub-Saharan Africa experiences perennial droughts, animal and plant diseases, environmental degradation and climatic change, depletion on soil nutrients, soaring world food prices, political instabilities, pestilence and lack of personnel to help in revamping this important sector in the economy.

In this 21st century, The Rockefeller Foundation started a six-year program on improved crop varieties in Africa. This was based on specific pillars that have seen a major advancement in food security especially in East and South African countries. Cultivation of local talent in plant science, scientific development of more productive fertilizers and crops, modern farming methods, appropriate agricultural policies and getting government’ commitment on agriculture, creating conducive agricultural environments and irrigation were the main structures that were put in place to ensure the six-year plan was a success.

Through African agricultural research institutions, the idea of green revolution has been greatly boosted in the advancement of Norman Borlaug’s idea. Through institutions like the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) funded by the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation, the Rockeffeler Foundation and other government sponsored institutions and universities, having African scientists have rolled their sleeves in the quest of this achievement.

Among the major achievements attained by this program, it has supported the development and release of more than one hundred new crop varieties, dozens of which is a breeding of a breakthrough rice variety that is proved equal to the challenges facing other rice farmers in Africa such as weeds, pests, weeds, drought and diseases that have hindered the rice farming for decades. Since the 1990s, new varieties have been developed including the New Rice for Africa or Nerica among others that are now been cultivated on more than 350 000 acres in the sub-Saharan African countries. These crop varieties have proved successful and sustainable in this hostile African environment.



Nerica, besides its advantages in food supply and source of income, it has far-reaching social effects. It has a short growth cycle, weed, disease and pest resistant. However, the Nerica program has been beset by problems getting the rice into the hands of farmers, and to date the only success has been in Guinea where it currently accounts for 16% of rice cultivation

The introduction of the Green revolution in Africa has however faced challenges that have seen it less successful. Some of the major reasons stated as hindering the revolution include insecurity, widespread corruption, and lack of proper infrastructure, land partitioning, lack of knowledge and general lack of political good will from African governments to appreciate and incorporate agricultural biotechnology in their farming habits. Poor infrastructure has posed a challenge in that farmers in the remote areas can no longer access modern and high-yielding farm inputs that are resistant to the hostile environmental conditions. In Africa, there is a more diverse range of suitable crops that fits the climate and soils. This makes engineering of farm inputs difficult. Yet it is possible to develop these higher-yielding crops suitable to Africa’s diverse regions, especially if the region’s farmers become part of the breeding, testing and selection processes in the production path.

Additionally, Africa has fewer teams of trained scientist that are available to put the knowledge into practice for the purposes of large breeding programs. Division of land into small pieces has also hindered the progress of the revolution. These farms favor small scale farming instead of commercial farming.

To achieve their objectives, these foundations have given in to the need of developing genetically engineered seeds and recruitment and training of local African scientists familiar with circumstances on particular areas where they work so as to practice crop-breeding programs. The Rockeffeler foundation is currently supporting 25 crop breeding teams in various agricultural research institutes as well as training 35 to 40 masters’ students and 50 plant breeding doctoral students from Africa in different learning and research institutions in the world. The founders of this foundation, however, recognize that for a full-scale Green Revolution in Africa, there is need to educate more talent so as to multiply the number of output to the desired level.

INITIATING DEBATE ON GMOs-Tanzania

Before we can proceed to talk about GMOs (Genetically modified organisms) we may need to talk on how they came about. Briefly, a GMO is any organism in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered/modified in a way which does not occur naturally (by mating or recombination) through the use of modern advances in biotechnology.

Biotechnology can be defined in many ways, but according to the convention on Biological Diversity, biotechnology is defined as any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for the specific use. Biotechnology provides a set of tools that, if appropriately integrated with other technologies, can be applied for the sustainable development agriculture, livestock, fisheries, wildlife and forestry, pharmaceutical and medical industries as well as in the protection of the environment.

Modern advances in biotechnology include:

 Genetic engineering – the transfer of specific genes from one organism to another. It is generally defined as the science of altering the genetic material of an organism in order to eliminate undesirable characteristics or to produce desirable new ones. Genetic engineering is used to increase crop and livestock production, to diagnose disease, improve medical treatment through the production of vaccines and other useful drugs; and to help dispose off industrial waste.

 Genetic engineering technology has therefore resulted into the productions of transgenic plants and animals popularly known as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) also known as Living modified organisms (LMOs).

 Cloning – the maintenance and growth of genetically uniform plants and animals.

 In Agriculture and food production, more than 20 crop species have been genetically modified using this technology. Most of these modifications have been targeted towards higher production levels through weed, pest and disease management. Genetically engineered crops include maize, soybean, tomato, cotton, tobacco, rice, wheat, canola/rapeseed, potato, squash, and papaya. Most of these crops and/or products thereof are now sold throughout the world.

The questions posed:
Is the Tanzanian general public aware of the advances in biotechnology?
Is Tanzania prepared to meet the challenges of the new technology?
Have you eaten any of the GMO products – knowingly or unknowingly?
If YES, have you felt differently?

Attention!!!

We are currently working on our blog to make it look better and much easier for surfing.
Please bear with us.

Thank you.

Body Odor ID: Your New Smelly Password

Facial recognition, fingerprints and iris scans could soon take a back seat to the newest biometric identification method on the block: body odor. Researchers at Spain’s Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, in collaboration with tech firm IIia Sistemas SL, are developing a system that can verify people by their scent signatures.


Recognizable body odor patterns remain constant enough over time to allow people to be identified with an accuracy rate of 85 percent. Researchers believe this result is enough to create less aggressive ways to ID people than intrusive measures currently being used today.
While iris and fingerprint scan may have a higher accuracy rate, the researchers contend these techniques are commonly associated with criminal records, perhaps making people reluctant to participate with the process. On the other hand, facial recognition has a high error rate. Therefore, the development of scent sensors that could identify a person as they walk through a system stall could provide less invasive solutions with a relatively high accuracy rate.


 Researchers believe such technology could be used in airports, border checkpoints or anyplace where photo identification is required. TSA agents may have reputations for being gruff grouches who love nothing more than to nose through your bags, but their rotten tempers might be because of all the rank B.O. they’re forced to smell, day in, day out. At least with a scent-detecting security system, someone else could sniff out the bad guys.

18 Million Farmers in 27 Countries Planted 175.2 Million Hectares of Biotech Crops in 2013

The 2013 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GMCrops, authored by Clive James, Founder and Emeritus Chair of ISAAA, reports that a record 175.2 million hectares of biotech crops were grown globally last year, at an annual growth rate of 3%, or 5 million hectares more from 2012.  The global hectarage of biotech crops have increased more than 100-fold in 18 years, from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 175.2 million hectares in 2013, making biotech crops the fastest adopted crop technology in recent history.

Developing Countries Planted More Biotech Crop Hectares

Eighteen years since the first commercial planting of biotech crops, and for the second consecutive year since 2012, developing countries planted more biotech crop hectares than industrial countries, producing 54% of the total global production in 2013. Of the 27 countries that planted biotech crops last year, 19 were developing, while only 8 industrial countries planted biotech crops

More Farmers Are Planting and Replanting Biotech Crops

From 1996 to 2013, millions of farmers in almost 30 countries worldwide, elected to make more than 100 million independent decisions to plant and replant an accumulated hectarage of more than 1.6 billion hectares. In 2013 alone, a record 18 million farmers grew biotech crops, up by 0.7 million from 2012, of which more than 90% or over 16.5 million are small, resource-poor farmers in developing countries.

In China, 7.5 million small farmers benefited from biotech cotton, and in India there were 7.3 million beneficiary farmers. In addition to economic gains, farmers benefited enormously from at least 50% reduction in the number of insecticide applications, reducing farmer exposure to insecticides, and importantly contributed to a more sustainable environment and better quality of life.

                     Women farmers rest on a heap of Bt cotton bolls in China.

                       Clean Bt cotton bolls make farmers smile in India

Farmers from Latin America, Asia, and Africa collectively grew 94 million hectares or 54% of the global 175 million biotech hectares (versus 52% in 2012), compared with industrial countries at 81 million hectares or 46% (versus 48% in 2012), almost doubling the hectare gap from 7 to almost 14 million hectares between 2012 to 2013, respectively. This trend is expected to continue, and is contrary to the prediction of critics who, prior to the commercialization of the technology in 1996, prematurely declared that biotech crops were only for industrial countries and would never be accepted and adopted by developing countries, particularly small poor farmers.

The USA is Still the World’s Lead Producer of Biotech Crops

 The USA continued its leadership in producing biotech crops in 2013 with 70.1 million hectares, an average adoption rate of ~90% across all biotech crops. Since 2006, the USA has planted eight biotech crops, namely: maize, soybean, cotton, canola, sugar beet, alfalfa, papaya, and squash. 

Brazil Continues To Be The Engine Of Biotech Crop Growth Globally

Brazil ranks only second to the USA in biotech crop hectarage in the world with 40.3 million hectares, but emerging as a strong global leader in biotech crop production. For the fifth consecutive year, Brazil increased biotech crop plantings more than any other country in the world.

Progress in Africa

In Africa, continued progress has been made with Burkina Faso and Sudan increasing their Bt cotton hectarage substantially. In 2013, South Africa’s biotech hectarage was marginally less, but practically at the same level as 2012. Encouragingly an additional seven African countries (Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda) have conducted field trials on a broad range of “new” biotech crops (cotton, maize, bananas, and cowpeas), including several orphan crops such as sweet potato.

         A Bt cotton farmer in his field in Burkina Faso.

 Five EU Countries Planted Biotech Crops in 2013

Five EU countries, planted a record 148,013 hectares of Bt maize in 2013, with Spain leading with a record 136,962 hectares of Bt maize. The remaining EU countries that planted biotech crops in 2013 are Portugal, Romania, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Contribution of Biotech Crops to Food Security, Sustainability and Climate Change

From 1996 to 2013, biotech crops contributed to Food Security, Sustainability and Climate Change by:

·         increasing crop production valued at US$116.9 billion;

·         providing a better environment, by saving 497 million kg a.i. of pesticides; in 2012 alone reducing CO₂ emissions by 26.7 billion kg, equivalent to taking 11.8 million cars off the road for one year;

·         conserving biodiversity in the period 1996-2012 by saving 123 million hectares of land; and

·         helped alleviate poverty by helping >16.5 million small farmers, and their families totaling >65 million people, who are some of the poorest people in the world.

Future Prospects

The near-term looks optimistic with more modest annual gains expected due to the already high rates of adoption (90% or more) in the principal biotech crops in mature markets in both developing and industrial countries. Bangladesh, Indonesia and Panama approved biotech crop planting in 2013 with plans for commercialization in 2014.

source: International service for acquisition of Agri-biotech Application

Love in the Lab

Love in the Lab!!!!!
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, tbf looked for married research teams whose focus appeared to be biologically or medically promising. Here are the Top 10 by Gen.