Genetically modified organism (GMO) foods are feared and hated by environmentalists and the public alike. Yet the scientific assessment of GMOs is remarkably different. Every major scientific evaluation of GMO technology has concluded that GMOs are safe for human consumption and are a benefit to the environment.

Evolution is ultimately why cancer is so deadly. Take two biopsies from different sides of a tumor, and they can be genetically very different, making it that much harder to fight. Variation is the toolbox of evolution, and this variation gives cancer strength.

Here at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, we have genetically rearranged various viruses and bacteria as part of our medical research. In fact, we have been able to create entirely new types of DNA molecules by splicing together the genetic information from different organisms - recombinant DNA.

All the food we eat - every grain of rice and kernel of corn - has been genetically modified. None of it was here before mankind learned to cultivate crops. The question isn't whether our food has been modified, but how.

Some forms of motor neuron disease are genetically linked, but I have no indication that my kind is. No other member of my family has had it. But I would be in favour of abortion if there was a high risk.

The position I took at the time was that we hadn't really examined any of the potential environmental consequences of introducing genetically modified organisms.

I went to a nutritionist; my diet is pretty clean, but I wanted to get some more knowledge and understanding in some areas. My two favorite things, Clif Bars and lattes, she just destroyed in our first meeting. Coffee is fine, but soy is the most genetically modified food that we eat.

I predict we will abolish suffering throughout the living world. Our descendants will be animated by gradients of genetically pre-programmed well-being that are orders of magnitude richer than today's peak experiences.

There are people who are generic. They make generic responses and they expect generic answers. They live inside a box and they think people who don't fit into their box are weird. But I'll tell you what, generic people are the weird people. They are like genetically-manipulated plants growing inside a laboratory, like indistinguishable faces, like droids. Like ignorance.

The essence of humanity's spiritual dilemma is that we evolved genetically to accept one truth and discovered another. Is there a way to erase the dilemma to resolve the contradictions between the transcendentalist and the empiricist world views?

Maybe I'm genetically more inclined to music - but the music I make is so far removed from Indian classical music. I grew up in Texas!

To summarize the particular song a male sings and the behavioral responses of females to song and morphological signals are not genetically inherited in a fixed manner but are determined by learning early in life.

Myths about the dire effects of genetically modified foods on health and the environment abound but they have not held up to scientific scrutiny. And although many concerns have been expressed about the potential for unexpected consequences the unexpected effects that have been observed so far have been benign.

Fairness forces you - even when you're writing a piece highly critical of say genetically modified food as I have done - to make sure you represent the other side as extensively and as accurately as you possibly can.

The public should know that the liability issues here have yet to be resolved or even raised. If you're a farmer and you're growing a genetically engineering food crop those genes are going to flow to the other farm.

When you say 'fear of the unknown' that is the definition of fear fear is the unknown fear is what you do not know and it's genetically within us so that we feel safe. We feel scared of the woods because we're not familiar with it and that keeps you safe.

The position I took at the time was that we hadn't really examined any of the potential environmental consequences of introducing genetically modified organisms.