technology:biotechnology

#transhumanisme : devenir immortel grâce aux clones numériques de l’esprit | Slate.fr
http://www.slate.fr/life/74165/transhumanisme-clone-numerique-esprit-immortalite

Pour Martine Rothblatt de United Therapeutics Corp - http://www.unither.com - "l’objectif de la technologie est de mettre fin à la mort". Martine Rothblatt veut créer des clones d’esprit, ou « mindclones ». Il s’agirait d’une version numérisée et immortelle d’esprit humain, qui serait créée à partir d’un fichier (« mindfile ») de dépôt de personnalité et gérée par un logiciel (le « mindware »). La société qui développera ce système en premier « aura mille fois le succès de Google », prédit-elle. Tags : (...)

L’ADN humain naturel ne peut pas être breveté
http://www.lemonde.fr/sante/article/2013/06/13/l-adn-humain-naturel-ne-peut-pas-etre-brevete_3429866_1651302.html

La décision était très attendue pour la recherche génétique. L’ADN humain est un produit de la nature et ne peut pas être breveté, a tranché, jeudi 13 juin, la Cour suprême des Etats-Unis, estimant que seul l’ADN complémentaire, c’est-à-dire synthétisé, pouvait l’être.

Global march challenges Monsanto’s dominance: LIVE UPDATES — RT News
http://rt.com/news/march-against-monsanto-gmo-776

The March Against Monsanto will see hundreds of thousands in 40 countries unite to challenge biotechnology corporations and protest against genetically modified foods, which despite bans in some countries due to health hazards remain legal in many others.

http://rt.com/files/news/1f/32/00/00/monsanto-9.jpg

Egyptian activists to participate in ’March against Monsanto’ Saturday

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/72222.aspx

Over 200,000 activists will be marching on Saturday 25 May in 400 cities worldwide against Monsanto Company, a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation and the largest producer of pesticides, herbicides and genetically engineered crop seeds in the world.

How the U.S. State Department Promotes the Seed Industry’s Global Agenda- http://documents.foodandwaterwatch.org/doc/Biotech_Report_US.pdf

« Food and water watch » a examiné 5 ans de cables diplomatiques divulgués par wikileaks et a trouvé que les ambassadeurs étasuniens (« ambassadeurs biotech ») agissent comme des représentants commerciaux à la solde de Monsanto et ce malgré que, ...

... In 2009, the prestigious International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) concluded that the high costs for seeds and chemicals, uncertain yields and the potential to undermine local food security make biotechnology a poor choice for the developing world.

Why your streetlights won’t be replaced by glowing trees any time soon #biotechnology #light #cost
http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/why-your-streetlights-wont-be-replaced-by-glowing-trees-anytime-soon

In Manifesto, Mexican Eco-Terrorists Declare War on Nanotechnology | Danger Room | Wired.com
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/03/mexican-ecoterrorism

Over the past two years, Mexican scientists involved in bio- and nanotechnology have become targets. They’re not threatened by the nation’s drug cartels. They’re marked for death by a group of bomb-building eco-terrorists with the professed goal of destroying human civilization.

The group, which goes by the name Individualidades Tendiendo a lo Salvaje (ITS), posted its manifesto to anarchist blog Liberacion Total last month. The manifesto takes credit for a failed bombing attempt that month against a researcher at the Biotechnology Institute at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. And the group promises more.

#écoterrorisme #écologie #militer #nanotechnologies #mexique

Regulators Discover a Hidden Viral Gene in Commercial GMO Crops
http://independentsciencenews.org/commentaries/regulators-discover-a-hidden-viral-gene-in-commercial-gmo-cr

In the course of analysis to identify potential allergens in GMO crops, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has belatedly discovered that the most common genetic regulatory sequence in commercial GMOs also encodes a significant fragment of a viral gene (Podevin and du Jardin 2012). This finding has serious ramifications for crop biotechnology and its regulation, but possibly even greater ones for consumers and farmers. This is because there are clear indications that this viral gene (called Gene VI) might not be safe for human consumption. It also may disturb the normal functioning of crops, including their natural pest resistance.

#ogm #santé

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : GM crops are no way forward
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article3812825.ece?homepage=true

Food security is not about production alone; it is also about bio-safety, and access to food for the poorest

We are predominantly an agricultural economy, with the agricultural sector providing employment and subsistence to almost 70 per cent of the workforce. There have been some remarkable contributions from the agriculture sector to food grain production in the last six decades, when from a meagre 50 million tonnes in the 1950s, the country has been able to produce a record 241 million tonnes in 2010-2011. Despite these achievements, the condition of the farming community is pitiable considering that 70 per cent of our farmers are small and marginal, and there is a complete absence of pro-farmer/pro-agriculture policies which has led us to an environment of very severe agrarian distress.

#Inde #OGM #politique_agricole

Enfin de la viande pour les végétariens

PayPal Founder Backs Synthetic Meat Printing Company | Wired.com
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/3d-printed-meat

Modern Meadow is a Missouri-based startup that believes 3-D printing could help to take some of the environmental cost out of producing a hamburger. He said: “If you look at the resource intensity of everything that goes into a hamburger, it is an environmental train wreck.”

C’est trop proche de Soylent Green / Soleil vert
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/Soylent_green.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_green
►http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soleil_vert_%28film%29

The company claims that by carefully layering mixtures of cells of different types in a specific structure, in-vitro meat production becomes feasible. It’s set a short-term goal of printing a sliver of meat around two centimeters by one centimeter, and less than half a millimeter thick, which is edible.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f6y-zC7SMXg/TuY2QYlIHHI/AAAAAAAAARU/18n3ia-ff8M/s1600/soylent.png

“We expect it will first appeal to culinary early-adopter consumers and the segment of the vegetarian community that rejects meat for ethical reasons. With reduction in price, it can reach the masses with religious restrictions on meat consumption (people restricted to Hindu, Kosher, Halal diets) and finally populations with limited access to safe meat production.”

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ca8ikuRz-mU/TuY6JRuzK9I/AAAAAAAAASE/lBzQN824d1I/s1600/SoylentGreen_FF_300x225_050220051550.gif
Dans le film l’origine prétendue de la nourriture artificielle sont des algues mais dans la réalité ce sont des cadavres humains recyclés.
http://cache.thephoenix.com/secure/uploadedImages/The_Phoenix/Life/Comic_Strips/BorsToon_GAS_loRes_378.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Nc998m5Qo6c/THQTQbeJzbI/AAAAAAAAE7k/JSuRsQHQkpE/s1600/charlton-heston-soylent-green.jpg

Des chercheurs ont créé des méduses artificielles à partir de silicone et des cellules du cœur d’un rat.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/07/22/artificial-jellyfish-silicone

“Morphologically, we’ve built a jellyfish,” Kit Parker, a Harvard biophysicist who led the research told Nature. “Functionally, we’ve built a jellyfish. Genetically, this thing is a rat.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfC3eVjmpfo&feature=player_embedded

#ItHasBegun #vivant

New report: Genetic engineering is dangerous for health and the environment | Social Watch
http://www.socialwatch.org/node/15162

A new study entitled “GMO myths and truths” challenges the conventional wisdom that “critics of genetically engineered food are anti-science”, reported Earth Open Source. The study produced by Dr Michael Antoniou, Dr John Fagan and Claire Robinson presents a large body of peer-reviewed scientific and other authoritative evidence of hazards to health and the environment posed by genetically engineered crops and organisms (GMOs).

Unusually, the initiative for the report came not from campaigners but from Antoniou and Fagan, two genetic engineers who believe there are good scientific reasons to be wary of GM foods and crops.

#OGM #agrobusiness #santé #environnement #pesticides

Biotech report says IP spurs innovation : Nature
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/06/intellectual-property-spurs-innovation.html

Some people say that patents on intellectual property (IP) stifle progress when they occur at early phases of research. However, history suggests the opposite, according to a report presented at the 2012 BIO International Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.

un rapport pro-#propriété_intellectuelle (ça nous change un peu)

#science #recherche #biotechnologies

Monsanto may lose GM soya royalties throughout Brazil
http://www.nature.com/news/monsanto-may-lose-gm-soya-royalties-throughout-brazil-1.10837

The biotechnology giant Monsanto is one step closer to losing billions of dollars in revenues from its genetically-modified (GM) Roundup Ready soya beans, following a ruling this week by the Brazilian Supreme Court of Justice.

In 2009, a consortium of farming syndicates from Rio Grande do Sul mounted a legal challenge to the levy, arguing that it is effectively an unjust tax on their businesses, and that it has proved impossible to keep Roundup Ready soya beans separate from conventional varieties. “The issue is that segregating GM and conventional soya is difficult, since the GM soya is highly contaminating,” says João Batista da Silveira, president of the Rural Syndicate of Passo Fundo, one of the leaders of the legal action.

#ogm #agrobusiness

Critics of Biotech Crops Proved Wrong - Harvard
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/21807/critics_of_biotech_crops_proved_wrong.html

une défense des #OGM, par Calestous Juma, prof à Harvard, expert aux Nations Unies, membre de la Fondation Bill Gates :

the adoption of transgenic crops continues to expand at eight per cent per year (...) the fastest adoption rate of any technology in the history of modern agriculture.
(...) many of its [critics] were wrong to assume from the outset the risks of the technology were likely to outweigh its benefits. Emerging evidence runs counter to those fears.
Over the 1996–2010 period, biotechnology crops have reduced 443 million kilogrammes of pesticide use.
This did not only reduce the spraying of chemicals that destroyed biological diversity, but they also cut down harmful exposure by farmers.
Another major impact of the adoption of biotechnology crops has been reduction of carbon emissions.
In 2010 alone the world reduced 19 billion kilogrammes of carbon dioxide due to the use of biotechnology crops. This is the equivalent to taking about nine million cars off the road. The world also reduced its use of land by 91 million hectares by adopting the crops.

#biotechnologies #agriculture #afrique

Blamed for Bee Collapse, Monsanto Buys Leading Bee Research Firm
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/11094-blamed-for-bee-collapse-monsanto-buys-leading-bee-researc

Monsanto, the massive biotechnology company being blamed for contributing to the dwindling bee population, has bought up one of the leading bee collapse research organizations.

#abeilles #recherche #capitalisme #environnement

Vu dans le flux un outil qui sert aux échanges instantanés ici : #OTR - permet le chiffrement, outils qui existent déjà depuis plusieurs années. voir http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr - cryptographie vs. DPI c’est une des grandes oppositions qui montent alors que l’existence d’une surveillance approfondie des communications est de plus en plus documentée dans tous les pays ; le chiffrement et la #cryptographie faisant l’objet de nombreuses présentations sur le 28c3, dans ses aspects techniques comme politiques et sociaux.

Va commencer d’ailleurs une présentation de la censure de TOR par certains gouvernements :
http://events.ccc.de/congress/2011/Fahrplan/events/4800.en.html
Sauf erreur c’est aussi une des seules présentations autour des « Printemps arabes » - dont peu d’acteurs sont référencés au Congrès (peu présents aussi, à ma connaissance)

Demain est annoncé du sport avec la présentation d’un Français, Eric Filliol, qui dit avoir démontré des vulnérabilités du réseau TOR http://events.ccc.de/congress/2011/Fahrplan/events/4581.en.html
Présentation qui a été faite (peut-être dans une autre version) au Brésil en octobre
https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/researchers-demonstrate-tor-network-hijack-method-102411
et dont les tenants et aboutissants sont largement discutés : http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=310737
et contestés par la Fondation TOR
https://blog.torproject.org/blog/rumors-tors-compromise-are-greatly-exaggerated

Le débat est intéressant car il souligne les enjeux d’outils qui passaient peu à la connaissance du grand public par le passé. Alors que TOR a par exemple été très employé dans le cours des « Révolutions arabes » - c’est aussi un outil très présent dans la galaxie Wikileaks et ses suites. Il semblerait qu’en dépit de ce qu’affirme Filliol TOR reste un outil de choix, davantage que les VPN qui sont susceptibles d’être compromis à des niveaux multiples
voir là : http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-22/china-based-hacking-of-760-companies-shows-cyber-cold-war.html
et
http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/security/3325422/ibahn-denies-hotel-internet-hack-aimed-at-travelling-executives

mais aussi responsabilités de VPN de remettre les logs de leurs clients à la justice, en particulier avec les tentatives de mise en place de législations plus restrictives autour du copyright (débat sur la #SOPA aux Etats-Unis) : http://www.industryleadersmagazine.com/the-stop-online-piracy-act-what-industry-leaders-can-do-abo

D’où volonté de certains groupes hacktivistes d’aller voir du côté des #darknets (internets « alternatifs »), notamment Telecomix qui veut remettre en cause la hiérachie http://dns.telecomix.org ; débat également repris par @Stephane Bortzmeyer ici-même
http://seenthis.net/messages/47785

Making Rubber From Renewables | Chemical & Engineering News
http://cen.acs.org/articles/89/i50/Making-Rubber-Renewables.html

The common #automobile tire contains rubber that’s extracted from latex-bearing trees and rubber that’s synthesized from petroleum feedstocks. Industrial biotechnology companies such as Genencor, Gevo, Amyris, and Genomatica want to give tire manufacturers a third option: biobased rubber ingredients made from sugar.

http://cen.acs.org/content/cen/articles/89/i50/Making-Rubber-Renewables/_jcr_content/articlebody/subpar/articlemedia_1.img.jpg/1323289206473.jpg
#renouvelables #environnement

Gloups // ALS Study Falls Short, But Use of Social Media Holds Promise - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704489604576283010994997034.html

Dr. Hartwell, who wasn’t involved in the study, said social-network trials aren’t likely to replace conventional randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials, the gold-standard for generating medical evidence. But such trials have become so complicated and time-consuming that new models are needed, he said.

#réseaux_sociaux

2.6g 329m/s, aka the ’bulletproof skin’ - we make money not art http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2011/01/26g-329ms.php

“alila Essaidi is teaming up with the Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands to provide transgenic human skin with a layer of spider-silk embedded in between the epidermis and dermis. The work purposely asks whether this technological innovation is socially desirable”