Media Section
Genetic Innovation

7

Protection against Pests (1/10)

The caterpillar of the cotton bollworm moth sits on the thumb of a technician in a laboratory in Melbourne in 2008.

Unlocking the genetic secrets of the world's worst agricultural pest, which is resistant to nearly every class of chemical pesticide, could lead to new ways of controlling the bollworm moth that causes 5 billion dollars of damage to crops around the world. Researchers are now working to sequence its genome. (Photo: Reuters)

Gene Banking (2/10)

Quechua Indian farmers display native potatoes at the International Potato Center (CIP) experimental station in the village of Aymara in the Andean highlands.

The CIP conserves genetic samples of most of the potatoes native to Peru, the birthplace of the potato with more than three thousand varieties. Most of the varieties cannot be grown outside the Andes due to the region's particular climatic and ecological conditions. Gene banks maintain the genetic diversity of foods and provide raw materials for food researchers. (Photo: Reuters)

Make Meat Healthier (3/10)

Two genetically altered piglets stand with a normal piglet (left) at the University of Missouri-Columbia in Columbia, Missouri.

U.S. scientists genetically engineered pigs that make beneficial fatty acids and may one day serve as a healthier source of pork chops or bacon. The pigs produced omega-3 fatty acids, compounds that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease in people. (Photo: Reuters)

Food from Clones (4/10)

Gloria, the first calf born to a cloned cow, Vitoria, is seen on a government farm outside Brasilia in 2004. The food safety authorities in the U.S., Japan and Europe have ruled that milk and meat from some cloned animals like cattle and pigs are safe to eat.

However, as yet they have not approved the sale of food made from cloned animals, and although it may happen in the coming years the absence of any compelling benefit for the consumer is said to be holding things back. (Photo: Reuters)

Stem Cell Research (5/10)

Smooth muscle cells derived from human embryonic stem cells showing the nuclei (blue) and proteins of the cytoskeleton (green). These cells could one day be used to replace smooth muscle of the blood vessels, bladder, intestines, or uterus. Stem cell research is directed towards treating many human diseases although human embryonic stem cell research remains controversial. (Photo: Reuters)

Artificial Blood (6/10)

Dr Claude Bagnis, head of the molecular haematology lab at the French Blood Institution displays a tube as he collects gene transfer vectors in his laboratory in Marseille in 2009. Dr Bagnis and his team have successfully genetically modified human red blood cells which could lead the way to creating samples of rare blood artificially. (Photo: Reuters)

Vaccine Production (7/10)

Dr. Jim Robertson, principal scientist at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), holds up an egg to be used to grow the H5N1 vaccine strain at his laboratory in southern England. The NIBSC is making use of the process of reverse genetics to create designer strains of the influenza virus suitable for vaccine manufacture. (Photo: Reuters)

Animal Organ Donors (8/10)

Five "knock-out" female piglets that are, according to Scottish firm PPL Therapeutics, a major step towards successfully producing animal organs and cells for use in human transplants.

A so-called knock-out pig has one gene inactivated, which would normally lead the human immune system to reject pig organs. PPL said this should enable organs and cells from such animals to be transplanted into humans and not be rejected. (Photo: Reuters)

Crime Fighting (9/10)

A volunteer takes a saliva sample in a police station in the eastern German town of Eberswalde.

Genetic fingerprinting and DNA analysis have revolutionized policing across the world. Now, traces of DNA found in blood, skin, hair, sweat and other secretions can be tested and logged into databases, enabling police to better identify suspects, and pinpoint who was at a crime scene. (Photo: Reuters)

Insulin from Bacteria (10/10)

Escherichia coli bacteria grown in culture and seen through an electron micrograph. A genetically manipulated strain of the bacterium is used to produce human insulin.

Insulin is the only known treatment for millions of diabetes patients. Before the advent of genetic engineering, patients had to use insulin from the pancreas of dead pigs and cows, which occasionally led to allergic reactions. Scientific studies have shown that insulin from bacteria is indistinguishable from normal human insulin. (Photo: Reuters)

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