GM foods, or bioengineered or transgenic foods, have been surrounded by controversy, yet they have proven benefits to the food supply and demand chain. These foods are shown to be safe for human consumption, although more studies are needed to define clearly their overall nutritional value and long-term health impacts. In this Honest Nutrition feature, we explore the practice of "clean eating," and why this concept has been a controversial one for researchers.
In this Honest Nutrition feature, we look at what makes carbohydrates an essential nutrient and what happens when we reduce carb intake in the diet. This Honest Nutrition feature explores what the research has to say about the facts and misconceptions around carbohydrates and carb-rich and low carb…. Many people avoid gluten in their diets. Here, we discuss gluten and its impact on health. We also ask whether gluten sensitivity truly exists. In this Honest Nutrition feature, we tackle the issue of funding: Who funds nutrition research, and do funding sources impact study credibility?
This Honest Nutrition feature looks at the foods that allegedly 'speed up' metabolism, and it gives an overview of the science behind this claim. This Honest Nutrition feature looks at the concept of food addiction, offering an overview of what scientists know and what they are yet to prove…. This Honest Nutrition feature looks at the facts and common myths surrounding monosodium glutamate MSG , a common food additive. Detox diets claim to rid the body of toxic substances, but there is currently no good quality scientific evidence to support their use.
This series of Special Features takes an in-depth look at the science behind some of the most debated nutrition-related topics, weighing in on the facts and debunking the myths. Share on Pinterest Illustration by Diego Sabogal. What are GM foods? Why create GM foods? View All. Clean eating: What does the research say? Carbohydrates: Are they really essential? How bad are carbs, really? Common GM foods. Most plant molecular biologists also say that in the highly unlikely case that an unexpected health threat emerged from a new GM plant, scientists would quickly identify and eliminate it.
And although it might seem creepy to add virus DNA to a plant, doing so is, in fact, no big deal, proponents say. Viruses have been inserting their DNA into the genomes of crops, as well as humans and all other organisms, for millions of years. They often deliver the genes of other species while they are at it, which is why our own genome is loaded with genetic sequences that originated in viruses and nonhuman species.
Pea aphids contain fungi genes. Triticale is a century-plus-old hybrid of wheat and rye found in some flours and breakfast cereals. Wheat itself, for that matter, is a cross-species hybrid. Could eating plants with altered genes allow new DNA to work its way into our own? It is possible but hugely improbable. Scientists have never found genetic material that could survive a trip through the human gut and make it into cells.
Besides, we are routinely exposed to—and even consume—the viruses and bacteria whose genes end up in GM foods. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis , for example, which produces proteins fatal to insects, is sometimes enlisted as a natural pesticide in organic farming. In any case, proponents say, people have consumed as many as trillions of meals containing genetically modified ingredients over the past few decades. Not a single verified case of illness has ever been attributed to the genetic alterations.
Mark Lynas, a prominent anti-GM activist who in publicly switched to strongly supporting the technology, has pointed out that every single news-making food disaster on record has been attributed to non-GM crops, such as the Escherichia coli —infected organic bean sprouts that killed 53 people in Europe in Critics often disparage U. But much research on the subject comes from the European Commission, the administrative body of the E.
The European Commission has funded research projects, carried out by more than independent teams, on the safety of GM crops. None of those studies found any special risks from GM crops. Plenty of other credible groups have arrived at the same conclusion.
Gregory Jaffe, director of biotechnology at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a science-based consumer-watchdog group in Washington, D.
Yet Jaffe insists the scientific record is clear. The U. Food and Drug Administration, along with its counterparts in several other countries, has repeatedly reviewed large bodies of research and concluded that GM crops pose no unique health threats. Dozens of review studies carried out by academic researchers have backed that view. Opponents of genetically modified foods point to a handful of studies indicating possible safety problems. But reviewers have dismantled almost all of those reports.
But the potato was not intended for human consumption—it was, in fact, designed to be toxic for research purposes. The Rowett Institute later deemed the experiment so sloppy that it refuted the findings and charged Pusztai with misconduct. Similar stories abound. After a review, the European Food Safety Authority dismissed the study's findings. Several other European agencies came to the same conclusion.
Some scientists say the objections to GM food stem from politics rather than science—that they are motivated by an objection to large multinational corporations having enormous influence over the food supply; invoking risks from genetic modification just provides a convenient way of whipping up the masses against industrial agriculture. Not all objections to genetically modified foods are so easily dismissed, however.
Long-term health effects can be subtle and nearly impossible to link to specific changes in the environment. Scientists have long believed that Alzheimer's disease and many cancers have environmental components, but few would argue we have identified all of them.
Colinearity and Transcription Units. Copy Number Variation. Copy Number Variation and Genetic Disease. Copy Number Variation and Human Disease. Tandem Repeats and Morphological Variation. Chemical Structure of RNA. Eukaryotic Genome Complexity.
RNA Functions. Citation: Phillips, T. Nature Education 1 1 If you could save lives by producing vaccines in transgenic bananas, would you? In the debate over large-scale commercialization and use of GMOs, where should we draw the line? Aa Aa Aa. Current Use of Genetically Modified Organisms.
Figure 1. Potential GMO Applications. Unintended Economic Consequences. References and Recommended Reading. Article History Close. Share Cancel. Revoke Cancel. Keywords Keywords for this Article. Save Cancel. Flag Inappropriate The Content is: Objectionable.
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The Beyond. Plant ChemCast. Postcards from the Universe. When farmers use these herbicide-tolerant crops they do not need to till the soil, which they normally do to get rid of weeds. This no-till planting helps to maintain soil health and lower fuel and labor use. Taken together, studies have shown positive economic and environmental impacts.
When the ringspot virus threatened the Hawaii papaya industry and the livelihoods of Hawaiian papaya farmers, plant scientists developed the ringspot virus-resistant Rainbow papaya. The Rainbow papaya was commercially planted in , and today it is grown all over Hawaii and exported to Japan. Learn more on Why Do Farmers in the U.
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