Australia breeds vitamin A transgenic banana or will be promoted in Africa

The transgenic technology could increase beta carotene in some of the food-eating bananas in East Africa, and the researchers hope that if it is confirmed that it can increase vitamin A levels, the crop will be commercially produced in Uganda by 2020.

The banana is just one of many genetically modified organisms, and scientists and supporters believe it could have far-reaching consequences for malnutrition and disease in developing countries. But critics say the long-term impact of the technology is not known, and that low-tech solutions such as improved farming techniques may be cheaper and more efficient.

The 9-year GM Banana project, which was held by Professor James Dale of the Queensland University of Technology, claims that boiled bananas in Highland and East Africa offer little key nutrients, such as iron and beta-carotene. So it is the culprit responsible for vitamin A deficiency, which causes as many as 700,000 children worldwide to die each year, and about 300,000 are blind.

Professor Dale said: "We have ample evidence that vitamin A deficiency can cause damage to the immune system and can even affect brain development." "The New banana species contains a specific gene that increases beta-carotene content, and it has orange flesh rather than yellowish flesh due to the higher beta-carotene content."

Researchers have cultivated test varieties in Uganda, and about 10 kilograms of bananas are now being sent to the United States to test the world's first genetically modified banana to assess its effectiveness. The results will be available by the end of this year, and if Ugandan lawmakers study legislation permitting the sale of GM crops, the crop could be widely planted within 6 years.

        This research project will once again spark debate on the suitability and effectiveness of genetic science in dealing with the problems of developing countries. "There is evidence that too much beta-carotene can cause cancer, so what happens to people who don't lack vitamin A," says Helen Wallace of the journal Gene Watch. These tests are not sure whether these changes will benefit people for a long time or harm. The