Statistical aspects of environmental risk assessment of GM plants for effects on non-target organisms.

Previous European guidance for environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants emphasized the concepts of statistical power but provided no explicit requirements for the provision of statistical power analyses. Similarly, whilst the need for good experimental designs was stressed, no minimum guidelines were set for replication or sample sizes. Furthermore, although substantial equivalence was stressed as central to risk assessment, no means of quantification of this concept was given.

Human-mediated dispersal of seeds over long distances.

Human activities have fundamental impacts on the distribution of species through altered land use, but also directly by dispersal of propagules. Rare long-distance dispersal events have a disproportionate importance for the spread of species including invasions. While it is widely accepted that humans may act as vectors of long-distance dispersal, there are few studies that quantify this process.

Host mediated selection of pathogen genotypes as a mechanism for the maintenance of baculovirus diversity in the field.

The genetic diversity of many DNA virus populations in nature is unknown, but for those that have been studied it has been found to be relatively high. This is particularly true for baculoviruses, a family of large double-stranded DNA viruses that infect the larval stages of insects. Why there should be such heterogeneity within these virus populations is puzzling and what sustains it is still unknown.

Genes invading new populations: a risk assessment perspective.

One of the concerns raised over the introduction of genetically modified crops is that transgenes will invade populations of wild relatives, causing ecologically significant changes in fitness. In recent years, this has given rise to several studies estimating hybridization rates and the fitness of crop-wild relative hybrids. These studies have established that transgenes are likely to move to F1 hybrids, albeit at low frequency.

An antivector vaccine protects against a lethal vector-borne pathogen.

Vaccines that target blood-feeding disease vectors, such as mosquitoes and ticks, have the potential to protect against the many diseases caused by vector-borne pathogens. We tested the ability of an anti-tick vaccine derived from a tick cement protein (64TRP) of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus to protect mice against tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) transmitted by infected Ixodes ricinus ticks. The vaccine has a "dual action" in immunized animals: when infested with ticks, the inflammatory and immune responses first disrupt the skin feeding site, resulting in impaired blood feeding, and then specific anti-64TRP antibodies cross-react with midgut antigenic epitopes, causing rupture of the tick midgut and death of engorged ticks.

A cross-reactive tick cement antigen is a candidate broad-spectrum tick vaccine.

Truncated constructs of 64P (64TRPs), a secreted cement protein from salivary glands of the tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, provided cross-protection against Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ixodes ricinus, apparently by targeting antigens in the midgut and salivary glands of adults and nymphs, causing mortality. Tick feeding on 64TRP-immunised animals stimulated local inflammatory immune responses (involving basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, mast cells, macrophages and dendritic-like cells) that boosted the immune status of vaccinated animals. The vaccine trial results, and antigenic cross-reactivity of 64TRPs with R.

Differential crop damage by healthy and nucleopolyhedrovirus-infected Mamestra brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae: a field examination.

Baculovirus infection in Lepidoptera can alter both larval mobility and feeding rates, which can in turn affect pathogen transmission and dispersal in the field. We compared the damage to cabbage plants in the field caused by healthy and nucleopolyhedrovirus-infected Mamestra brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae released as second and fourth instars.

The role of food plant and pathogen-induced behaviour in the persistence of a nucleopolyhedrovirus.

Insect baculoviruses can survive between epidemics as infectious particles external to the host. Many pathogens persist in reservoirs, i.e.

Bioethics for technology?

Ethical concerns about biotechnology continue to be debated in the scientific and popular press. Ethical considerations have led to the development of frameworks within which biotechnology can be developed in socially acceptable and desirable ways: through legislation, the development of public-private collaborations, and regimes that safeguard consumer choice.

The GM public debate: context and communication strategies.

Science communication is developing a new approach that promotes dialogue between scientists and the public. A recent example is the debate on the possible introduction of genetically modified crops into the United Kingdom. As this exercise in public engagement draws to a close, we consider the context in which this debate has taken place, and the challenges of developing such interactions between science and society.

Habitat-specific diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Europe, exemplified by data from Latvia.

The distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks from ecologically distinct habitats in Latvia was analyzed. A significant variation in the frequency of the genospecies across sites was observed, pointing to the importance of the host community in the ecology of Lyme borreliosis.

Association of Borrelia garinii and B. valaisiana with songbirds in Slovakia.

In Europe, 6 of the 11 genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato are prevalent in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks. In most parts of Central Europe, B. afzelii, B.

Dual action ectoparasite vaccine targeting 'exposed' and 'concealed' antigens.

Blood-feeding ectoparasites, such as mosquitoes, sandflies and ticks, transmit many disease agents. Their control relies on large-scale, repeated use of chemical pesticides. An alternative, targeted and environmentally friendly approach is to develop anti-ectoparasite vaccines.