In a pioneering study released last week, the Union of Concerned Scientists asked two independent labs to examine samples of traditional corn, soybean and canola seeds. The labs found contamination in half the corn, half the soybean and more than 80 percent of the canola varieties.

It is in the interest of American farmers to maintain some supplies "uncontaminated" by engineered genes.

That may soon cease to be possible.

A report published last week described tests carried out on supposedly unmodified corn, soy and canola seeds, all purchased commercially. Of 18 seed varieties tested, 16 seemed to contain some genetically engineered elements.

Many biotechnology companies appear to be taking fewer chances lately -- to the point that the industry seems to have lost its nerve.

More and more start-ups now seem focused on scrounging around ...

"There's a fair question: Where's all the new stuff going on?"

Hyaluronan may be the next big thing after Botox.

It is extracted from the red combs of roosters and hens. In roosters, the comb, essentially a big flap of skin, swells with hyaluronan in response to testosterone.

Pfizer has selectively bred roosters to have superhuge combs. At one point, the combs grew too big.

The future is moving out of dusty library stacks and into pristine laboratories on both sides of the Charles River, making this area the national leader in biotechnology. The boom is driven by a new breed of intellectual wearing a white lab coat and using science to breach the barrier between academia and commerce.

In all its manifestations, the biotechnology moment in Boston is a question of intellectual and cultural identity. Because biotechnology requires a familiarity with a variety of scientific disciplines -- physics, biology, mathematics, computer science -- it attracts people whose passions seem boundless and seem to run in several directions at once. The promise is what attracts the people, which is what attracts the money. Within a mile of MIT, you will find 13 of the 25 largest biotechnology companies in Massachusetts.

Biologically Inspired Multifunctional Dynamic Robotics Workshop

The goals of this DARPA workshop are to explore the use of biologically inspired practices, principles, multifunctional materials, sensors, and signal processing to demonstrate energy efficient and autonomous locomotion and behavior in challenging unplanned environments (e.g. rubble of different sizes, flight in wind, turbulent water).

We are interested in exploring new modalities of locomotion such as climbing (trees, cliffs, cave walls), jumping, and leaping and the ability to manipulate the world with an appendage that allows grasping and digging.

The Council for Responsible Genetics (CRG) is a non-profit / non-governmental organization devoted to fostering public debate about the social, ethical, and environmental implications of the new genetic technologies.

Too often, the debates about the social and ethical implications of biotechnology have been left to the scientific "experts." As a link between scientists and lay people, the CRG is working to encourage public understanding and involvement in these debates.

The central principles that guide the vision of the CRG are: