Recently, scientists from Cairne University in France announced the research results, saying that after a two-year classification experiment on 2 experimental mice, the experimental mice fed with genetically modified corn NK63 and the feed contaminated by Roundup (trade name "Roundup") were prone to tumor and visceral damage. After the results of the experiment were published, scholars at home and abroad debated about the safety of genetically modified crops and how to carry out the transgenic experiment. Some scholars have raised many questions about the experiment of French scientists, arguing that other factors can not rule out the carcinogenicity of experimental mice, but some scholars insist that the experiment is highly credible, and the two-year experimental cycle has fully broken through the blockade of previous transgenic companies. In this regard, a number of scholars who hold opposing views told the China Journal of Science that diversified experiments are essential to thoroughly dispel people's doubts about the safety of genetically modified crops and solve the deadlock between the genetically modified camp and the anti-genetically modified camp. In the future, the government and the market should play an important role in this regard.
Two similar experiments have opposite conclusions
On September 21st, the above research results of Cairne University in France were published in the journal of Food Chemical Toxicology. The research emphasizes that this is the first research result on experimental mice that only eat genetically modified grains for more than two years, while the experiments usually carried out on mice often last only 9 days.
The researchers divided 2 male and female experimental mice into 1 groups with 1 mice in each group. One group, as the control group, was fed with ordinary feed and white water containing 33% genetically modified grains; Three groups were fed with feed and water containing large doses of glyphosate herbicide in order to reflect the influence of herbicide on food chain; The other six groups were fed diets containing different proportions of NK63.
By the 14th month of the experiment, none of the experimental mice in the control group had cancer, while 1% to 3% of the experimental mice in the group fed with NK63 and glyphosate herbicide developed tumors. By the 24th month of the experiment, 5% to 8% of the experimental mice in all groups fed with feed containing NK63 and glyphosate had tumors, with an average of three tumors per mouse, while only 3% of the experimental mice in the control group were sick.
When the reporter of China Journal of Science inquired about the online website of the journal of Food Chemical Toxicology, it was found that there was another paper in the same issue that published the experiment of French scientists, which was also related to the toxicity test of genetically modified corn feeding rats, but the conclusion was completely opposite to the former, with the effect that "China scholars came to a non-toxic conclusion after feeding for three months".
The researcher named "Study on Feeding SD Rats with Glyphosate-tolerant Corn for 9 Days" comes from China, and there are five authors named * * * from China Agricultural University and the Food Safety Supervision, Inspection and Testing Center of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The reporter found that the experiments of Chinese scholars are similar to those of French scholars: first, they all evaluated the toxicity of genetically modified corn to rats; Second, the transgenic corn used is resistant to herbicide glyphosate; Third, SD rats were used; Fourth, they are divided into male group and female group.
However, there are obvious differences between them. Firstly, the experiment of French scholars lasted for two years, while that of Chinese scholars lasted for three months. Secondly, French scholars chose the transgenic maize line NK63 bred by Monsanto, and Chinese scholars chose the transgenic maize line containing G2-aroA gene cultivated in China. In addition, French scholars also evaluated the toxicity of herbicides, while Chinese scholars did not do this test. Of course, the conclusions drawn by scholars in the two countries are also very different. The former says that genetically modified corn causes tumors and kills, while the latter says it is non-toxic.
academic controversy: rigorous or biased
in the eyes of scholars who oppose genetically modified crops, this experiment by French scientists undoubtedly proves that genetically modified crops are risky.
distinguished professor Gu Xiulin, research center of social and economic behavior of Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, is a well-known activist against genetically modified crops in China. Gu Xiulin told the reporter of China Science News about this experiment that the result of this experiment broke through the previous restriction that the experiment time should not exceed three months, which truly showed the harm of genetically modified crops. She believes that this experiment is not a case, and domestic researchers should face up to the harm of genetically modified crops.
Jiang Gaoming, chief scientist of Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is also an advocate of this opinion. On September 25th, Jiang Gaoming said in an interview with China Science News that he personally believed that this experiment by French scientists should be credible. As for some people who questioned why the research results were not published in top scientific journals such as Nature, he said that Food Chemical Toxicology is also an internationally recognized academic journal with high authority, and the researcher's paper can pass peer review, which also proves the reliability of the experiment.
However, there are many questions about the experiments of French scientists at home and abroad. Gé rard Pascal, a French toxicologist, said that there were only 1 mice in the study and there were too few samples. The mice used in the experiment are considered to be prone to breast cancer naturally. Kevin Folta, a professor of biology at the University of Florida in the United States, also said that what the researchers observed may be a variable of the normal incidence of breast tumors in a small number of mice.