/oss/taxonomy/term/335/all en /oss/article/environment-general-science/cocaine-natural-scourge <p>While walking around the exhibit hall at an agricultural conference a few years ago, when we could still travel, I perused the usual displays of farming equipment and industry booths promoting various pesticide and fertilizer formulations. To my surprise, there were also a number of booths selling video surveillance equipment. Why would farmers be interested in these I wondered? A chat with a salesperson quickly brought on a forehead-slapping “aha” moment. Farmers use ammonia as a fertilizer that is stored in large tanks on the property.</p> Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:30:06 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8672 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience-environment/dr-stephanie-seneff-strikes-out-again-glyphosate-and-covid-19 <p>An MIT computer scientist with no expertise in agriculture, chemistry, toxicology, or the biological sciences. And yet for some reason, <a href="https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/stephanie-seneff">Stephanie Seneff</a> has decided that genetically modified foods are the tools of the devil and that glyphosate (Roundup), the herbicide used to kill weeds in fields of crops that have been genetically modified to resist it, is responsible for many of society’s ailments.</p> Fri, 01 May 2020 16:56:23 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8232 at /oss /oss/events/seeds <h2><img alt="poster of SEEDS the play" height="380" width="695" style="float: left; width: 450px; height: 246px;" class="file-original lt" src="/oss/files/oss/seeds_3.jpg" />Porte Parole Productions in partnership with the ƽ���岻�� Office for Science and Society presents <em>Seeds </em></h2> <p>Before making its way into U.S. markets, <em>Seeds</em> - a dramatic re-enactment about the 7-year legal battle between Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser and one of the biggest biotech corporations, Monsanto Inc. - is making a one-night return to Montreal!</p> Tue, 21 Jan 2020 15:57:11 +0000 emily.shore@mcgill.ca 8084 at /oss /oss/article/health/cracked-science-14-top-5-myths-about-dna <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-kfvxrcklrdc" width="640" height="390" title="Top 5 Myths About DNA (CS14)" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/kfVxrcKlRDc?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-kfvxrcklrdc&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Top 5 Myths About DNA (CS14)" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Top 5 Myths About DNA (CS14)</iframe> </div> </p> Thu, 10 May 2018 18:23:25 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7079 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition-technology/cracked-science-06-arctic-apple <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-2"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-0a4mgxc5moo" width="640" height="390" title="Arctic Apple (CS06)" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0A4mGxc5mOo?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-0a4mgxc5moo&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Arctic Apple (CS06)" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Arctic Apple (CS06)</iframe> </div> </p> Thu, 10 May 2018 18:02:17 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7071 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-environment-food-health-news/there-are-no-fish-genes-tomatoes <p>During a public lecture on genetic modification I described an experiment that involved enriching soybeans with the amino acid methionine. Soybeans are widely used to raise animals but are low in this essential amino acid often necessitating the use of methionine supplements. Brazil nuts produce a protein that is particularly rich in methionine so the idea was to isolate and clone the gene that codes for the production of the methionine-rich protein and insert it into the genome of the soybean.</p> Tue, 26 May 2015 10:44:54 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2262 at /oss /oss/article/food/twitching-worms-non-browning-apples <p>The tiny worm’s twitch was hardly noticeable, but with that slight shudder science took a giant leap!  A leap big enough to lead to a Nobel Prize that would pave the way to apples that will not brown, onions that will not make you cry, cotton seeds that you can eat and diseases that you can treat. The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Professors Andrew Fire of Stanford University and Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts for their discovery of “RNA interference” and its role in “gene silencing.” </p> Fri, 06 Jul 2012 19:14:10 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1714 at /oss /oss/article/health-you-asked/do-gmo-foods-cause-any-health-related-risks <p>I don't believe they do but I keep hearing this from many of my friends and I would like to shut them up once and for all. If you have any studies or papers you could refer me to I would be ever so grateful.</p> Sun, 11 Nov 2012 18:23:19 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1782 at /oss /oss/article/food-quirky-science/coloring-hair <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?attachment_id=3647" rel="attachment wp-att-3647"><img alt="drink" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2012/11/Kool-Aid-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>Just mention “Kool Aid” and my memories flop back to summer camp. That was the beverage we were served with every meal. And it was the same with my kids. They used to tell me about the "bug juice" that was blended in large garbage cans to serve the whole camp. I’m not sure why they called it bug juice, maybe it was because of the insects that inevitably met their doom in the brightly colored liquid. And as you know, Kool Aid colors are bright! Intense reds, bright blues, fluorescent greens! Just like the colors that adorn the hair of some adventurous teens. There is a good reason why some punkers look as if they had dipped their hair into Kool Aid. They have!</p> <p style="text-align:justify">Some bright kids figured out that Kool Aid could be used as an effective temporary hair dye. Just the right thing to amaze your friends and scare your parents. <a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2012/11/24/coloring-hair/">Read more</a></p> Sun, 25 Nov 2012 04:35:47 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1832 at /oss /oss/article/food/thorny-issue-genetic-modification <p align="center" style="text-align:justify">The ancient Greeks did not have a good grasp of genetics. A giraffe, they thought, was a cross between a camel and a leopard, and an ostrich was the result when a camel mated with a sparrow. A tough task for the bird, one would think. Why did they hold such beliefs?  Because in the absence of facts, imagination stepped in. And it still does. A recent survey showed that a third of all Europeans believe that tomatoes only contain genes if they have been genetically engineered. Otherwise they are “gene-free” and one would guess, in their eyes, “risk fr</p> Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:40:06 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 1567 at /oss /oss/article/food-health/second-generation-golden-rice <p>Eating carrots really can make you see better. That is, if you’re deficient in vitamin A! Retinol, as the vitamin is also known, is absorbed from the digestive tract and is converted in the body to retinal which complexes with a molecule in the eye known as opsin. When light hits this complex, it unleashes a cascade of chemical events that lead to the transmission of an impulse up the optic nerve. Given that vitamin A is found in meat and fish, a deficiency in North America is rare. But you don’t have to have meat.</p> Tue, 25 Dec 2012 03:21:43 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1846 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/gmos-and-omega-3-fats <p>Mention genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and watch the brows wrinkle. People just don’t want the genes in their meals modified, even if they are not quite sure what genes are. Better just leave them alone. It isn’t nice to fool with Mother Nature!</p> Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:30:55 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 1641 at /oss /oss/article/environment-health-technology/resistance-24-d-resistant-corn-and-soy <p>Get ready for a new controversy.  Corn and soybeans that are genetically engineered to resist the weed killer 2,4-D are heading for approval.  And they are also heading for an onslaught of opposition from activists and some farmers.  The idea of genetic modification for herbicide resistance is not new.  Corn, soybean, canola and cotton growers in North America have been using Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” seeds for years.  Previous to the introduction of this technology large amounts of chemicals had to be applied to plowed fields before seeding to eliminate weeds.  With Roundup Ready crops th</p> Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:05:42 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1703 at /oss