Word: strobel
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...progress and turbulence for scientists experimenting for the first time outside the lab with genetically engineered bacteria. This past April, California scientists made the first outdoor tests of ice-minus, a bacterium genetically altered to retard frost formation on leaves. Only four months later, Montana State University Professor Gary Strobel created a national outcry when it became known that he had flouted strict federal regulations by failing to get approval before injecting elm trees with bacteria designed to combat Dutch elm disease. This week Clemson University scientists, mindful of public fears about the escape of dangerous microbes, will begin...
...Strobel's unauthorized action, which earned him a slap on the wrist from the EPA and Montana State, as well as the disapproval of most U.S. scientists, was not in itself dangerous -- federal officials and researchers alike agree on that. But by sidestepping the arduous regulatory process, Strobel fanned the fears of those who think genetically altered bugs might behave unpredictably in the wild, setting off an ecological catastrophe or disrupting local ecosystems. Most scientists consider the public's fears exaggerated, but they nonetheless acknowledge the need for caution. Says David Drahos, a senior research group leader at Monsanto...
...tracking techniques continue to improve, regulators may allow more field tests of genetically altered organisms. Few scientists expect a repeat of Strobel's iconoclastic behavior. Says Nickolas Panopoulos, a University of California, Berkeley, plant pathologist: "I don't think anyone would risk his career, bad publicity and maybe no grants for years to do it. And I would hope there won't be more unregulated releases, because it creates a bad impression...
Antibiotechnology activists were infuriated with Strobel's actions and with his mild punishment. They claim that scientists could unwittingly unleash destructive mutant bacteria into the environment, a worry that is considered alarmist by most scientists. Says Jeremy Rifkin, a Washington lobbyist: "We cannot expect the scientists to police themselves. They feel they are above...
...Strobel admits that his frustration with the maze of federal rules and the often lengthy EPA approval process led him to start the elm test last June. Geneticist Duane Jeffery of Brigham Young University likens Strobel's actions to Oliver North's, contending that the scientist knew the rules and pulled the idealistic stunt "in the name of service to humanity." Strobel is a recognized expert on plant pathogens who once wrote that his career choice "was brought on by a desire as a teenager to understand why the chestnut trees had died in my home state of Ohio...