New study: Bt maize not harmful to ladybirds

Genetically modified maize has no harmful impacts on the two-spotted ladybird. This is the finding of a scientific study published in August 2… more

Pest conquers Europe

Spotted for the first time in Germany in July 2007 in the Ortenau district of Baden-Württemberg, the Western corn rootworm has had scientis… more

Western corn rootworm found in North Rhine-Westphalia for the first time

On 17 August, the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Agriculture announced that eight Western corn rootworm specimens had been found in Colog… more

USA: Genetically modified oilseed rape found on uncultivated land

When genetically modified oilseed rape is grown on a large scale, the plants also grow on uncultivated land. According to a recent study pr… more

Nationalisation of the GMO cultivation decision: “The buck has been passed to the Member States.”

In July 2010 the EU Commission introduced new guidelines for national coexistence measures. On this basis, the Member States are to have th… more

New coexistence - Guidelines in the EU: Cultivation bans are now permitted

On 13 July 2010, the EU commission decided on new guidelines for coexistence. These mark a turning point in the European policy on gene tec… more

Transgenic fungus-resistant barley - effects on pathogenic and beneficial fungi

(2005 – 2008) University of Giessen, Institute of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology more

Fungus-resistant barley – No effects on beneficial fungi

Genetically modified barley, which through the introduction of new genes is resistant to harmful fungi, does not negatively affect benefici… more

Effects of Bt maize on honeybees

(2008 – 2011) University of Bayreuth, Department of Animal Ecology I, Population Ecology Working Group more

Maize people

Long ago, in pre-human times, two brothers cleared a patch of virgin forest and made the first field in the wilderness, which provided the … more

Quality standards for safety research – Environmental groups pull out

Biosafety research was at the heart of the fourth round table on plant genetics at Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BM… more

Bacterial arsenal to combat chewing insects

Plants are producing their own insecticide and using it to ward off their attackers. Genetic engineering has fundamentally changed the face… more

Cultivation of genetically modified crops: European Commission plans renationalisation

On 13 July the European Commission will decide on new regulations for plant genetic engineering. The key issue is that EU member states are… more

Crisps, chips and starch: The demise of the traditional table potato

Unless it comes in the form of spicy potato crisps or thin, bite-sized chips, then the potato is considered rather unsophisticated, dull and h… more

Nutritious tubers

Erdapfel, Erdbirne, Kantüffel, Krumbeer and Tüfte – the regional names used to describe the potato are almost as diverse as the varietie… more

Preventing the spread of genetically modified maize through transgene-free pollen

(2008 – 2011) University of Hamburg, Department of Biology, Developmental Biology and Biotechnology Division more

Plastid transformation to prevent the spread of genetically modified plants

(2008 – 2011) Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology Potsdam more

Developing a plastid transformation technology for maize

(2008 – 2011) Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology Potsdam more

Developing a technique for the targeted integration of genes in plants

(2008 – 2011) University of Karlsruhe, Botanical Institute, Chair of Molecular Biology and Plant Biochemistry more

“After this year we will know whether cleistogamic oilseed rape is a suitable method for the biological containment of foreign genes.”

A flowering oilseed rape field near Braunschweig: While one half of the field glows bright yellow, the other half looks somewhat paler. This h… more