TAKE COVER! PENTAGON'S GMO INSECT SOLDIERS ARE COMING!

The Pentagon Wants to Make an Army of Virus-Spreading Insects. Scientists Are Concerned.

By Brandon Specktor Source

Genetically Modified Crops were placed in the market in mid 90’s. Since then, GMO crops have reached almost 200 million hectares or about 12% of total field crops growing area. Without an ambition to analyze the GMO phenomenon here, in a sentence is could be stated that after GMO came to the stage, nothing had ever been the same. The Stone age of transgenic technology was finished somewhere at the end of the first decade of this Century. The game changer in genome editing appeared to be a method called CRISPR-Cas which enable the more sophisticated gene manipulation, by far, and gives the ability to introduce a particular induced mutation throughout the whole genome of an organism. Moreover, the effect of the genome change could be visible in one generation, and no crosses and/or the next generation of progenies is required. The process in reverse direction is possible, as well, that put a cherry on the top of this. The changes in technology are of that scale that put a question of GMO definition validity. Not to mention that CRISPER opens the road and speed up the further evolution of genome editing laboratory techniques. Though, CRISPR needs to be polished some more, it is improving by day, giving a whole new world of opportunities as a powerful biological scissors, for more precise genetic surgery. However, the attractiveness of new genome editing technologies is not promising benefits for medicine, or agriculture, mostly. A “Military Intelligence”, as it seems, has found an angle, as well. An angle that could give you the shivers.

Insect Allies winged soldiers armed with GMO viruses. Are they meant to be crop protectors, food security guardians, or wishers attackers on all that grows and moves in next generation biological warfare?

WHEN POLITICS FAILS, MEDICINE COMES HANDY

Scientists have figured out how to make wounds heal without scars

Source Science Alert

By our fault and/or "With a little help from our friends", but Balkans is always at a brink of the war. If the art of negotiations was politics, "good" politics could be equal to successful outcome of negotiations. On the contrary, the failure of negotiations could be described - from the peoples point of view - as "bad" politics, or policy failure. At Balkans that could easily lead to war. Where war is, wounds are. Wounds are followed by scars. Luckily,  a contemporary medicine just has the answer. We can sharpen our knives, now, with ease in our hearts.

WHY EUROPE MAY BAN THE MOST POPULAR WEED KILLER IN THE WORLD

By Erik Stokstad

Erik is a reporter at Science, covering environmental issues and UK research. 

It's hard to find an herbicide like glyphosate. It’s cheap, highly effective, and is generally regarded as one of the safest and most environmentally benign herbicides ever discovered. But a report last year that glyphosate could cause cancer has thrown its future into jeopardy. Now the European Union faces a 30 June deadline to reapprove its use, or glyphosate will not be allowed for sale. Here's a quick explanation of the issues. 

Who uses glyphosate?

Just about everyone who hates weeds. The herbicide is widely sprayed to fight weeds along railroad tracks, in backyards, city streets, parks, and elsewhere. Many kinds of agriculture rely on glyphosate as well—and farmers are by far the biggest users. (Sales skyrocketed in the United States and Latin America after Monsanto and other companies genetically modified soybeans and other crops to withstand the effects of glyphosate. That means farmers can easily kill weeds without harming their crops.) The herbicide has done more than benefit farmers' profits; glyphosate has also curbed soil erosion by facilitating no-till agriculture, the practice of spraying fields before planting instead of plowing up weeds.