Genetically modified organisms (GMO) make trouble between scientists.

Current research in world laboratories still gives no answer to the question what genetic organisms are – a treasure to defeat hunger on our planet and to create effective treatment for dangerous diseases, or a time bomb, waiting to explode, when no one expects it to. During recent scientific symposium “Physiology of a transgenic plant and safety issues” eminent biologists discussed reasons for controversial attitude towards GMO. These reasons include insufficient information about mechanisms of functioning and regulation of plant genome, unpredictability of artificial genetic structures’ “behaviour”, instability of said structures and “technological garbage” inside them.

We can illustrate controversial results of modified GMO safety studies by means of reports on scientific research. Fellows from Russian Mechnikov science and research centre of vaccines and wheys say that natural soybeans are more powerful allergens than genetically modified ones. However, this information is quite unexpected, since GMO enemies predict multiple allergic reactions spreading around after people consume food with genetically modified proteins. Biologists from Moscow extracted allergenic substances from natural and modified soybeans and analysed blood serum samples of 220 patients with food allergy and atopic dermatitis, healthy people served as a control. Most powerful allergens were proteins of natural soybeans, which are close in structure to main allergic agent of birch pollen, that is why they are able to cause not only food allergy, but also intensify allergic response of patients with hay fever (pollinosis).

At the same time studies performed in Saratov showed adverse effect of genetically modified organisms on health of laboratory mice. For five months mice were fed with modified soybeans and results were sad – test mice showed up to 18% increase in weight, 39.5% reduced spleen and their liver enlarged up to 18.5% compared to control group. Blood enzymes of poor mice also showed low activity. Fellows from the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology recently received new data on effect of GM-soybeans on higher nervous activity of rats. They added soya flour to rat food 2 weeks before animal breeding, during breeding, pregnancy and baby rats feeding. Such food had its impact on test rats – during “light-darkness” tests male rats and their babies demonstrated excessive anxiety – they spent much longer time in the darkness than control rats. Female rats were running from dark corners to light places and back, thus showing their disturbance. Behaviour of newborn rats of both genders resembled that of their parents. Researchers observed even more discouraging results, when they put experimental animals to cages. Rats were extremely aggressive – they attacked other rats and bit them and vivarium employers. One fifth of female rats, who ate modified food, showed complete absence of maternal instinct – they scattered little rats around a cage instead of building a “nest” for them. Rats of the control group, who never ate GM-soybeans, didn’t show any behavioural deviations.

Source:
    Science News

Kizilova Anna