Bio-Engineered Rice Uses Human Genes 417
gliph writes "Yahoo news has a piece about a small biogenetics firm that is using genetically engineered rice containing human genes to help fight diarrhea. From the article: 'Ventria's rice produces two human proteins found in mother's milk, saliva and tears, which help people hydrate and lessen the severity and duration of diarrhea attacks, a top killer of children in developing countries.'"
Re:Old recipe for stopping diarrhea (Score:3, Informative)
Re:These symptoms are caused by poverty (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Ethics vs survival (Score:5, Informative)
It's not like they're going to ship the rice for the local farmers to grow - from tfa:And its not like they're going to give it away for free [ventriabio.com]:So, we've got a new method of manufacturing proteins by extracting them from GM rice. US rice farmers are worried that it will affect trade with anti-GM nations. Environmentalists are worried about it for the usual GM worries (cross pollination with wild rices, unknown future side affects, species jumping, etc).
I think the way to cure dysentry is like many other posters have said, to fix infrastructure.
Re:Old recipe for stopping diarrhea (Score:5, Informative)
Re:But where does it grow? (Score:2, Informative)
"The company says the chance of its genetically engineered rice ending up in the food supply is remote.."
Vaccination (Score:2, Informative)
Not really. Vaccination is much more difficult than you imply, especially because the organisms that cause most of these diseases are bacteria and eukaryotes. Much harder to vaccinate against than viruses, and much less effective when you do design one that "works".
No maybe about it (Score:3, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin#Timeline [wikipedia.org]
"Human insulin is now manufactured for widespread clinical use using genetic engineering techniques, which significantly reduces impurity reaction problems. Eli Lilly marketed the first such insulin, Humulin, in 1982. Humulin was the first medication produced using modern genetic engineering techniques, in which actual human DNA is inserted into a host cell (E. coli in this case). The host cells are then allowed to grow and reproduce normally, and due to the inserted human DNA, they produce actual human insulin.
Genentech developed the technique Lilly used to produce Humulin. Novo Nordisk has also developed a genetically engineered insulin independently. Most insulins used clinically are produced this way, for they avoid most of the allergic reaction problem."
Re:Product's name: (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, you are being ridiculous. Nobody would consider such rice to be "human". I feel sorry for you because you are either stupid enough to actually think we might think a few human genes makes something human or you are just a sadly misinformed person with regards to how religious people think.
Personally, while I am not in particular in favor of genetically modified food for reasons that have nothing at all to do with religion, I would not be surprised if some Christians objected to this rice. Not because it is "human" but because the creators are "playing God" or some such nonsense. Personally, I think that God gave us brains to use to make our lives better through advances in science and medicine. If I was going to get on board with genetically modified food, this would probably the be the one I'd support.
Re:Product's name: (Score:4, Informative)
I'm a Muslim, but not a religious scholar, so I'm saying my personal opinion, not the 'official' stance of Islam.
Your example of pig genes in tomatoes can go in many ways. Some Muslims will argue that if it's "pig anything" it's not halal and we won't eat it.
Other Muslims may say "guys, it's just tomatoes..as long as it's not real pig body parts then no problem".
Then some others will say "depends on the genes themselves. If they are the genes pigs have in common with other creatures that we already eat freely like cows, then it isn't a problem, but if its genes found only in pigs and other non-halal animals then we'll avoid it".
Notice, however, that Islam is a very practical religion. And in every time the Quran mentions that pigs are forbidden , it mentions that if someone was forced to eat them or he'll die, then he could eat them as long as his intent is saving life , not disobeying God.
So I think if a Muslim had to eat some genetically modified product ( that he believes isn't halal) in order to save himself/herself from diarrehea or from hunger, there is no problem with that as long as there is absolutely no other way. If conventional medicine and/or other sources of food exist or can be acquired , he/she has to use those.
Hope that answered your question.
Re:Old recipe for stopping diarrhea (Score:2, Informative)
From TFA, it's unclear whether they plan to grow their GM rice here and extract the relevant proteins as a suppliment, or use it directly as a food crop which would be grown locally (they've sought FDA appproval as a lightly-regulated "medical food" rather than a drug).
Yeah, right...instead of providing them with conventionally produced mediciation (which would be long off-patent), or infrastrcture for clean water to prevent diarrhea-causing diseases (ditto), let's create a something new, of unproven safety (both to immediately to human beings and long-term to the ecosystem on which we depend) and that brings the developing world under corporate control.
This is just as stupid as "golden rice", the idea of which was to replace local crops rich in vitamin A with patented rice.
(BTW, if GM crops are so substantially identical to the originals tha no labeling is needed when they sneak them into my food, how is it that they are at the same time unique enough to be deserving of patents?)
Soylent Rice ISN'T FOOD! (Score:2, Informative)
The company is manufacturing a drug (which they want classified as a "medical food" for FDA purposes) by tweaking the genes of a rice plant. The rice is ground up to make the "medical food."
The big controversy here (per the article) is growing this stuff out in the open where it could potentially cross-polinate or otherwise impact rice crops intended for food.
The rice itself isn't to be used as food. It's just a big open-air drug factory.
parochial attitude (Score:3, Informative)
That's typical parochial Western bullshit. People in developing nations aren't two year olds and you aren't their wise old grandmother.
Are you saying that nobody should give bio-genetics firms any money, because it's just a waste?
I'm saying that people should concentrate on those things that we know increase life expectancy the most, like building sewers. On the other hand, selling proprietary US crops to these nations makes the primary problem worse: poverty.
Furthermore, we know that nations can develop without "bio-genetics", 20th century medicine, or high tech because almost all nations that are prosperous today have done so.
Living in America? (Score:3, Informative)
Storm