File photo of equipment tracks over a field in England. (Georgeclerk/E+/Getty Images)

Regulations on gene-edited crops to be eased in England

London | Reuters — Britain’s farming and environment minister George Eustice announced Wednesday that regulations related to gene editing in agricultural research would be eased in England following a public consultation. Rules will now largely be aligned with conventional breeding methods for research and development into plants although scientists will still be required to notify […] Read more


File photo of a canola field in northern France’s Normandy region. (Brasil2/iStock/Getty Images)

France backs non-GMO regulation for crop gene-editing in EU

Paris | Reuters — France sees crops developed using gene-editing techniques as different to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and opposes a European Union court decision to put them under strict GMO regulations, the country’s agriculture minister said. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in 2018 that mutagenesis, among so-called new breeding techniques (NBT) based […] Read more




The grand chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union, in Luxembourg. (Curia.europa.eu)

GMO rules cover plant gene editing technique, top EU court says

Brussels | Reuters — Crops obtained by plant breeding technique mutagenesis should fall under laws restricting the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Europe’s highest court said on Wednesday, in a victory for environmental campaigners. The biotech industry had argued that much of mutagenesis, or gene editing, is effectively little different to the mutagenesis that […] Read more


(Limagrain.com)

Limagrain says GMO protests could force R+D relocation

Paris | Reuters — Limagrain, the world’s fourth-largest seed maker, will consider moving its research activities out of France if field trials in its home market continue to be sabotaged by opponents of genetically modified crops. The French co-operative group was targeted last month by protestors who invaded test fields southeast of Paris and scattered […] Read more



(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Gene editing could pave way for pig organ transplants

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. researchers have used a new gene editing technique to trim away potentially harmful virus genes that have impeded the use of pig organs for transplants in humans. The study, published in the journal Science, expands on capabilities of the genome editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9, which works as a type […] Read more