Biotechnology product development, biosafety regulation and environmental risk assessment in the Philippines

This study looks at the current biotechnology and biosafety situation in the Philippines. It assesses whether the country's biotechnology organizations are in a position to effectively perform biosafety regulation, protect intellectual property rights and respond to the accelerating pace of international biotechnology product development. Based on a mixture of primary and secondary information, the study finds that biotechnology development is constrained by funding and resources. It also finds that, while biosafety guidelines and practices are relatively strong, there are a number of institutional weaknesses. The study recommends measures to make biotechnology research and development more cost-effective and to improve biosafety in the country. Overall, the report calls for the Philippines to carefully balance the need for biotechnology regulation with the need for innovative biotechnology development

Making Biotechnology Safer: An Assessment from the Philippines

Modern biotechnology is one of the most controversial areas of scientific development. It has been championed as a solution to poverty, hunger and environmental degradation. However, there are also many environmental, health and social equity concerns associated with the genetic modification of crops and animals. The challenge, particularly for developing countries, is to benefit from these technologies while ensuring that biosafety issues are adequately addressed.Biotechnology, Philippines

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved