1Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan 2Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Fisciano, 84084 Salerno, Italy 3UoN Chair of Oman’s Medicinal Plants and Marine Natural Products, University of Nizwa, Oman 4Quality Laboratory of Vegetable and Medicinal Materials, Department of Vegetable Crops and Medicinal Plants, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, ...

Agricultural and environmental applications of modern biotechnology have spurred considerable controversy about their environmental risks and potential to alter the environmental impacts of other technologies and practices, such as pesticide use. The range of biotechnology products under development is expanding rapidly, and thus the potential for controversy over the environmental effects of b...

Oilseed crops are major sources of oils for human nutrition, and an increasing proportion is also being utilized for industrial purposes. Recent advances in our understanding of the basic biochemistry of seed oil biosynthesis, coupled with identification of genes for oilseed modification, have set the stage for the genetic engineering of oilseed crops that produce ‘designer’ plant seed oils tai...

Transgenes encoding for insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins from the soil-dwelling bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis have been widely introduced into Genetically Modified (GM) crops to confer protection against insect pests. Concern that these transgenes may also harm beneficial or otherwise valued insects (so-called Non Target Organisms, NTOs) represents a major element of the Environmental Ris...

Among the genetically modified (GM) crops that are being approved for commercialization, herbicide resistant crops, especially those harboring cp4-epsps, have a considerable contribution. Gene-specific methods can be used to screen the presence of GMOs. To establish an effective qualitative and quantitative screening method, a set of primers were designed considering the cp4epsps sequence. The ...

Crop insurance is a risk management tool with the potential of dealing with risk more efficiently, the study uses a dichotomous contingent valuation method to elicit the willingness to pay for crop insurance among cereal farmers in the Eastern region of Ghana. The study employed descriptive statistical techniques to analyse primary data obtained from 208 sampled farmers in the region. Approxima...

An article in the Botany section of The Scientific Ravi 2012 entitled Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Crops perpetuates a number of common myths that there are different environmental and health risks associated with genetically modified crops, including dangers of eating foreign DNA. Such viewpoints are promulgated by fringe studies and web sites that are rejected by the overwhelming m...

Biotechnology and its use to modify the genetic makeup of living organisms has become a topic of heated discussion in recent years. Confusion is plentiful on the topic of biotechnology and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The purpose of this publication is to discuss genetic/biochemical processes at a basic level and how biotechnology is used to modify the genetic makeup of an organism. R...

The biological control function provided by natural enemies is regarded as a protection goal that should not be harmed by the application of any new pest management tool. Plants producing Cry proteins from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), have become a major tactic for controlling pest Lepidoptera on cotton and maize and risk assessment studies are needed to ensure they do not harm i...

The transatlantic debate over the use of genetically modified organisms (“GMO”s) as food products, with the US as a proponent on one side, and the European Union (“EU”) as an opponent on the other, is set to take center stage. The US has initiated formal legal action under the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement System, charging that the EU violates several agreements of international t...