PLANTS IDENTIFIED BY DNA PROFILING IN STUDY

Despite aiming to finalize international trade rules for genetically modified commodities in Montreal, the 118countries and the European Union, who are members to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, ended their second meeting without agreeing

on the shipping documentation requirements for bulk shipments of living modified organisms (LMOs) or GMOs intended for food, feed, and for processing.

According to the Protocol, a decision was supposed to have been made on the detailed requirements for such documentation within two years of the entry into force of the Protocol. Discussions will continueat the third meeting of the Parties, scheduled to take place in Curitiba, Brazil, in March 2006.

In the meantime, Parties will follow a Protocol guideline that requires member governments to take measures to ensure that documentation accompanying GMOs intended for direct use as food, or feed, or for processing, clearly identifies that the shipment “may contain living modified organisms (LMOs) that are intended for use as food, or feed, or for processing and

states that they are not intended for intentional introduction into the environment.”

Download a copy of the press release at http://www.biodiv.org/doc/press/2005/pr-2005-06-03-bs-en.pdf

NEW OUTLOOK GOOD FOR PLANTS AS FUEL

Two recent studies in the journal Science report that plant-derived hydrocarbons may one day be used to fuel cars, replacing fossil fuels which cause air pollution. Work on using plants for fuel has hitherto focused on burning them, then converting the heat to electricity – a method unsuitable for long-haul trips, since electric cars have to be  recharged constantly. Since then, scientists have focused on converting plant material into fuel that vehicles can use directly. In the newest study, researchers have found a way to harness the power of plant carbohydrates, which make up about 75% of a plant's dried weight.

In one study, scientists used a platinum catalyst to facilitate the reaction between plant carbohydrates and hydrogen gas, producing short carbon chains. In the next step, they used a magnesium based catalyst, this time to link the products from the first step together, to produce the longer carbon chains required for fuel. With more pressurized hydrogen and another platinum catalyst, scientists succeeded in delivering a finished fuel similar to conventional diesel.

Access the article at http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050531/full/050531-6.html. Subscribers can also access the individual scientific journal articles at http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1111166 and http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1085597

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