Dogmalix

So I just read up on the Pusztai incident. The basic conclusion of the scientists involved was that the viral promoter used to express the gene of interest is the likely cause of the stomach issue. This is not a case of the transformation techniques causing negative side effects, but a case of the genetic cassette being used containing unwanted DNA. There are a lot of ways around that, I hate to burst your little bubble, but you lack core understanding of the issue.

It is not ok for a scientist to get fired or railroaded as a result of political bullshit, but you can't blame the technology for that. It would be fallacy to say that all gm food is unsafe because some made a poor choice of which promoter to use in their gene cassette. Blame the politicians and corporations involved instead.

Another thing, people have no idea about what Monsanto is really up to, and how bad it is for agriculture as a whole. You posses all of these second hand anecdotes, but the reality of the situation is a lot more obvious. Its a big corporation, willing to do whatever it takes to make their money grow, that operates at the edge of legality. This whole knee jerk "GMO is bad!" reaction is all based on ignorance born out of good intentions. Do not blame the technology, blame the people.

Did you hear Amit got tenured up at Washington State? Also, do you think that securing funding for your lab effects the quality and direction of your research positively or negatively?

I hope you quit that lab. Giving in to that kind of pressure is the worst kind of moral and ethical violation for a scientist. I am resisting my urge to say something snarky about how MDs are not scientists, so let me just say that if your former PI got caught she would never get any funding again ever. She probably wouldn't be able to get a job washing beakers. So is it really worth the risk?