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GMO foods and ingested RNA gene blockers

Nothing could possibly ever go wrong (or then again, maybe not)
GMO foods and ingested RNA gene blockers

For those interested in GMO (genetically modified organisms) here is a summation and a link to an interesting story concerning how the introduction of DNA and RNA fragments into food which is then consumed by people can actually have some important possible side effects. As the author of the piece points out, normally, throughout history, people have discovered that some food was toxic by making the mistake of eating it, and given that GMOs are not tested or regulated, it would appear that if it ever happens that troublesome RNA enters the food chain, people will find out after the fact, and even then, no doubt there will be a long period of controversy over the true cause, much like decades were spent quarrelling about such products as cigarettes.



(MiRNA may also play a role in) cross-species communication, co-evolution, and predator-prey relationships.






A good place to start would be the testing of introduced DNA for other effects -- miRNA-mediated or otherwise -- beyond the specific proteins they code for. But the status quo, according to Monsanto's web page, is,

There is no need to test the safety of DNA introduced into GM crops. DNA (and resulting RNA) is present in almost all foods. DNA is non-toxic and the presence of DNA, in and of itself, presents no hazard.

There are computational methods of investigating whether unintended RNAs are likely to be knocking down any human genes. But thanks to this position, the best we can do is hope they're using them. Given it's opposition to the labeling of GM foods as well, it seems clear that Monsanto wants you to close your eyes, open your mouth, and swallow.

It's time for Monsanto to acknowledge that there's more to DNA than the proteins it codes for -- even if it's for no other reason than the fact that RNA alone is a lot more complicated that Watson and Crick could ever have imagined.

 link to www.alternet.org

truth be told 16.Jan.2012 09:03


How Food Affects Genes

Tiny RNA molecules in food eaten can circulate in the bloodstream and turn genes off in the body; what are the implications of eating genetically modified food?

Dr. Mae-Wan Ho

Nucleic acids circulating in the bloodstream and Darwin's theory of pangenesis
The age-old adage that you are what you eat has taken a literal turn in the rush of startling findings since the human genome sequence was announced 10 years ago, which overturn every tenet of the genetic determinist ideology that had made the Human Genome Project seem a compelling undertaking (see [1, 2] Living with the Fluid Genome, ISIS publications; Death of the Central Dogma and other articles in the series, SiS 24).

In 2009, we reported on nucleic acids circulating in the bloodstream that offer golden opportunities for disease diagnosis, and may also play a role in communication between cells within an organism [3] (Intercommunication via Circulating Nucleic Acids, SiS 42).

But would circulating nucleic acids cross species barriers? Yes, according to Liu Yongshen at the Henan Institute of Science and Technology in Xinxiang, China [4]. Furthermore, Charles Darwin was really the first person to have proposed a mechanism for it in his theory of pangenesis.


This is a great site, The Institute of Science in Society. You've got to love the acronym, ISIS.

Montsanto VP just appointed as senior adviser to the FDA... 24.Jan.2012 08:53

just to drive the knife deeper...


Here's the full story:
You're Appointing Who? Please Obama, Say It's Not So!