Science News article about corn collagen replacing gelatin

[Guest guest]

Oooh, it would be so nice to be able to eat marshmallows again!!!!!!

 

ERB <bakwin wrote: This article was in the September 1st issue

(Vol. 172, No. 9, p. 142), and is only available online to rs -- and,

it's short -- so I've reproduced it here.

 

There is the GMO element to this scientific breakthrough, which they don't

address. Still, a good example of how we can get past the use of animal products

in areas other than food.

 

Liz

____________

Corny collagen

 

 

Brian Vastag

 

 

From Boston, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society

 

Slaughterhouse leftovers such as skin, tendons, bone, and

cartilage are often processed into gelatin that's used in many

products, including pill coatings and capsules. The primary protein in

gelatin, collagen, can now be extracted from an engineered strain of

corn, researchers report, suggesting that the pharmaceutical industry

could go vegetarian.

 

In 2004, scientists at the company FibroGen in South San

Francisco, Calif., spliced a collagen gene into corn and grew a small

plot of the transgenic crop in Nebraska. But it took until now to

develop a four-step procedure to recover and purify the small amounts

of collagen in the corn, reports Iowa State University's Cheng Zhang,

part of the team that collaborated with FibroGen to develop the

process.

 

Unlike its animal–by-product cousin, the corn-derived collagen

purified at Iowa State in Ames is uniform in composition and should be

easier for drugmakers to work with, says FibroGen's Julio Baez. It also

eliminates the danger of transferring animal viruses to people via the

slaughterhouse product.

 

" Right now there are 1,000 cows in every cold capsule, " Baez

quips. After collagen extraction, corn waste could serve as a raw

material for making ethanol or other products, he says (SN: 8/25/07, p. 120).

 

His team is now trying to boost the yield of corny collagen. The

test crop generated just 3 milligrams of collagen per kilogram of

kernels.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

What an amazing enviromental breakthough this could be (unless the GMO corn

takes over the world)!

 

ERB <bakwin wrote: This article was in the September 1st issue

(Vol. 172, No. 9, p. 142), and is only available online to rs -- and,

it's short -- so I've reproduced it here.

 

There is the GMO element to this scientific breakthrough, which they don't

address. Still, a good example of how we can get past the use of animal products

in areas other than food.

 

Liz

____________

Corny collagen

 

 

Brian Vastag

 

 

From Boston, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society

 

Slaughterhouse leftovers such as skin, tendons, bone, and

cartilage are often processed into gelatin that's used in many

products, including pill coatings and capsules. The primary protein in

gelatin, collagen, can now be extracted from an engineered strain of

corn, researchers report, suggesting that the pharmaceutical industry

could go vegetarian.

 

In 2004, scientists at the company FibroGen in South San

Francisco, Calif., spliced a collagen gene into corn and grew a small

plot of the transgenic crop in Nebraska. But it took until now to

develop a four-step procedure to recover and purify the small amounts

of collagen in the corn, reports Iowa State University's Cheng Zhang,

part of the team that collaborated with FibroGen to develop the

process.

 

Unlike its animal–by-product cousin, the corn-derived collagen

purified at Iowa State in Ames is uniform in composition and should be

easier for drugmakers to work with, says FibroGen's Julio Baez. It also

eliminates the danger of transferring animal viruses to people via the

slaughterhouse product.

 

" Right now there are 1,000 cows in every cold capsule, " Baez

quips. After collagen extraction, corn waste could serve as a raw

material for making ethanol or other products, he says (SN: 8/25/07, p. 120).

 

His team is now trying to boost the yield of corny collagen. The

test crop generated just 3 milligrams of collagen per kilogram of

kernels.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

What an amazing enviromental breakthough this could be (unless the GMO corn takes over the world)!ERB <bakwin (AT) sbcglobal (DOT) net> wrote: This article was in the September 1st issue (Vol. 172, No. 9, p. 142), and is only available online to rs -- and, it's short -- so I've reproduced it here.There is the GMO element to this scientific breakthrough, which they don't address. Still, a good example of how we can get past the use of animal products in areas other than food.Liz____________Corny collagenBrian VastagFrom Boston, at a meeting of the American Chemical SocietySlaughterhouse leftovers such as skin, tendons, bone, andcartilage are often processed into gelatin that's used in manyproducts, including pill coatings and capsules. The primary protein ingelatin, collagen, can now be extracted from an engineered strain ofcorn, researchers report, suggesting that the pharmaceutical industrycould go vegetarian.In 2004, scientists at the company FibroGen in South SanFrancisco, Calif., spliced a collagen gene into corn and grew a smallplot of the transgenic crop in Nebraska. But it took until now todevelop a four-step procedure to recover and purify the small amountsof collagen in the corn, reports Iowa State University's Cheng Zhang,part of the team that collaborated with FibroGen to develop theprocess.Unlike its animal–by-product cousin, the corn-derived collagenpurified at Iowa State in Ames is uniform in composition and should beeasier for drugmakers to work with, says FibroGen's Julio Baez. It alsoeliminates the danger of transferring animal viruses to people via theslaughterhouse product."Right now there are 1,000 cows in every cold capsule," Baezquips. After collagen extraction, corn waste could serve as a rawmaterial for making ethanol or other products, he says (SN: 8/25/07, p. 120).His team is now trying to boost the yield of corny collagen. Thetest crop generated just 3 milligrams of collagen per kilogram ofkernels.See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage.

[Guest guest]

http://72.32.142.180/news_story.php?id=5048

 

GM Corn May Affect Aquatic Ecosystems, Indiana University Study Says

 

Press Release -- October 8, 2007 -- BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A study by an

Indiana University environmental science professor and several

colleagues suggests a widely planted variety of genetically engineered

corn has the potential to harm aquatic ecosystems. The study is being

published online this week by the journal Proceedings of the National

Academies of Sciences.

 

Researchers, including Todd V. Royer, an assistant professor in the IU

School of Public and Environmental Affairs, established that pollen and

other plant parts containing toxins from genetically engineered Bt corn

are washing into streams near cornfields.

 

They also conducted laboratory trials that found consumption of Bt corn

byproducts produced increased mortality and reduced growth in

caddisflies, aquatic insects that are related to the pests targeted by

the toxin in Bt corn.

 

Caddisflies, Royer said, " are a food resource for higher organisms like

fish and amphibians. And, if our goal is to have healthy, functioning

ecosystems, we need to protect all the parts. Water resources are

something we depend on greatly. "

 

Other principal investigators for the study, titled " Toxins in

transgenic crop byproducts may affect headwater stream ecosystems, " were

Emma Rosi-Marshall of Loyola University Chicago, Jennifer Tank of the

University of Notre Dame and Matt Whiles of Southern Illinois

University. It was funded by the National Science Foundation.

 

Bt corn is engineered to include a gene from the micro-organism Bacillus

thuringiensis, which produces a toxin that protects the crop from pests,

in particular the European corn borer. It was licensed for use in 1996

and quickly gained popularity. In 2006, around 35 percent of corn

acreage planted in the U.S. was genetically modified, the study says,

citing U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

 

Before licensing Bt corn, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

conducted trials to test its impact on water biota. But it used Daphnia,

a crustacean commonly used for toxicity tests, and not insects that are

more closely related to the target pests, Royer said.

 

Royer emphasized that, if there are unintended consequences of planting

genetically engineered crops, farmers shouldn't be held responsible. In

a competitive agricultural economy, producers have to use the best

technologies they can get.

 

" Every new technology comes with some benefits and some risks, " he said.

" I think probably the risks associated with widespread planting of Bt

corn were not fully assessed. "

 

There was a public flap over the growing use of Bt corn in 1999, when a

report indicated it might harm monarch butterflies. But studies

coordinated by the government's Agriculture Research Service and

published in PNAS concluded there was not a significant threat to

monarchs. Around that time, Royer said, he and his colleagues wondered

whether the toxin from Bt corn was getting into streams near cornfields;

and, if so, whether it could have an impact on aquatic insects.

 

Their research, conducted in 2005 and 2006 in an intensely farmed region

of northern Indiana, measured inputs of Bt corn pollen and corn

byproducts (e.g., leaves and cobs) in 12 headwater streams, using litter

traps to collect the materials. They also found corn pollen in the guts

of certain caddisflies, showing they were feeding on corn pollen.

 

In laboratory trials, the researchers found caddisflies that were fed

leaves from Bt corn had growth rates that were less than half those of

caddisflies fed non-Bt corn litter. They also found that a different

type of caddisfly had significantly increased mortality rates when

exposed to Bt corn pollen at concentrations between two and three times

the maximum found in the test sites.

 

Royer said there was considerable variation in the amount of corn pollen

and byproducts found at study locations. And there is likely also to be

significant geographical variation; farmers in Iowa and Illinois, for

example, are planting more Bt corn than those in Indiana. The level of

Bt corn pollen associated with increased mortality in caddisflies, he

said, " could potentially represent conditions in streams of the western

Corn Belt. "

 

Once published, the paper will be available at

www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0707177104v1. Reporters can obtain a

copy of this article prior to its publication by contacting the PNAS

News Office at 202-334-1310 or PNASnews. Reporters registered

with PNAS's EurekAlert! can obtain the article through that service.

 

To speak with with Todd Royer, contact Jana Wilson, IU SPEA, at

812-856-5490 or wilsonjs; or Steve Hinnefeld, University

Communications, at 812-856-3488 or slhinnef .

 

Contact: Steve Hinnefeld, slhinnef, 812-856-3488, Indiana

University

 

Copyright notice

 

--

The Southern Health and Ecology Institute

Zero Waste

Community Exchange

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Vegetable gelatin's been produced for a looooong time and lots of

cruelty free food & cosmetics companies use vegetable based gelatin

(seaweed and such). For the life of me I have never been able to

figure out why the supplement companies continue to use animal based

gelatin. Seems to me vegetable based would be cheaper and their

products would then appeal to vegetarians, thus increasing their

sales. But then again, many other ways of the world make no sense to

me either...

 

 

 

, Namaska7 wrote:

>

> What an amazing enviromental breakthough this could be (unless the

GMO corn

> takes over the world)!

>

> ERB <_bakwin_ (bakwin) > wrote: This

> article was in the September 1st issue (Vol. 172, No. 9, p. 142),

and is only

> available online to rs -- and, it's short -- so I've

reproduced it here.

>

> There is the GMO element to this scientific breakthrough, which

they don't

> address. Still, a good example of how we can get past the use of

animal

> products in areas other than food.

>

> Liz

> ____________

> Corny collagen

>

> Brian Vastag

>

> From Boston, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society

>

> Slaughterhouse leftovers such as skin, tendons, bone, and

> cartilage are often processed into gelatin that's used in many

> products, including pill coatings and capsules. The primary

protein in

> gelatin, collagen, can now be extracted from an engineered strain

of

> corn, researchers report, suggesting that the pharmaceutical

industry

> could go vegetarian.

>

> In 2004, scientists at the company FibroGen in South San

> Francisco, Calif., spliced a collagen gene into corn and grew a

small

> plot of the transgenic crop in Nebraska. But it took until now to

> develop a four-step procedure to recover and purify the small

amounts

> of collagen in the corn, reports Iowa State University's Cheng

Zhang,

> part of the team that collaborated with FibroGen to develop the

> process.

>

> Unlike its animal†" by-product cousin, the corn-derived collagen

> purified at Iowa State in Ames is uniform in composition and

should be

> easier for drugmakers to work with, says FibroGen's Julio Baez. It

also

> eliminates the danger of transferring animal viruses to people via

the

> slaughterhouse product.

>

> " Right now there are 1,000 cows in every cold capsule, " Baez

> quips. After collagen extraction, corn waste could serve as a raw

> material for making ethanol or other products, he says (SN:

8/25/07, p. 120).

>

> His team is now trying to boost the yield of corny collagen. The

> test crop generated just 3 milligrams of collagen per kilogram of

> kernels.

>

>

>

>

>

> ************************************** See what's new at

http://www.aol.com

>

[Guest guest]

vegan essentials makes a great fake marshmallow.

and gelatin is scary, but freaky gmo corn with collagen spliced in ? sounds like

freaky frankenfood to me!

-

Kadee M<abbey_road3012

< >

Monday, October 08, 2007 11:58 AM

Re: Science News article about corn collagen replacing

gelatin

 

 

Oooh, it would be so nice to be able to eat marshmallows again!!!!!!

 

ERB <bakwin<bakwin> wrote: This article

was in the September 1st issue (Vol. 172, No. 9, p. 142), and is only available

online to rs -- and, it's short -- so I've reproduced it here.

 

There is the GMO element to this scientific breakthrough, which they don't

address. Still, a good example of how we can get past the use of animal products

in areas other than food.

 

Liz

____________

Corny collagen

 

 

Brian Vastag

 

From Boston, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society

 

Slaughterhouse leftovers such as skin, tendons, bone, and

cartilage are often processed into gelatin that's used in many

products, including pill coatings and capsules. The primary protein in

gelatin, collagen, can now be extracted from an engineered strain of

corn, researchers report, suggesting that the pharmaceutical industry

could go vegetarian.

 

In 2004, scientists at the company FibroGen in South San

Francisco, Calif., spliced a collagen gene into corn and grew a small

plot of the transgenic crop in Nebraska. But it took until now to

develop a four-step procedure to recover and purify the small amounts

of collagen in the corn, reports Iowa State University's Cheng Zhang,

part of the team that collaborated with FibroGen to develop the

process.

 

Unlike its animal-by-product cousin, the corn-derived collagen

purified at Iowa State in Ames is uniform in composition and should be

easier for drugmakers to work with, says FibroGen's Julio Baez. It also

eliminates the danger of transferring animal viruses to people via the

slaughterhouse product.

 

" Right now there are 1,000 cows in every cold capsule, " Baez

quips. After collagen extraction, corn waste could serve as a raw

material for making ethanol or other products, he says (SN: 8/25/07, p. 120).

 

His team is now trying to boost the yield of corny collagen. The

test crop generated just 3 milligrams of collagen per kilogram of

kernels.