A closer look at GE corn findings

摘要

A long-term animal toxicity study claiming adverse effects of genetically engineered (GE) corn has caused an international maelstrom. The study examined how exposure to the herbicide Roundup? and NK603 Roundup Ready? maize (GE corn engineered to withstand glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup) affected Sprague-Dawley rats over a 2-year period, roughly equivalent to 65 years in humans. Images from the paper of enormous tumors in the rats have riveted the public, yet researchers and industry have raised numerous concerns about the design of the study, which was led by Gilles-Eric Seralini, a molecular biology professor at the University of Caen in France. The authors also came under fire for insisting journalists sign an agreement preventing contact with third parties prior to publication, an unheard-of embargo term, which they claimed would prevent leaks of the sensitive paper.