The subject is about a new rice variety developed by some rice scientists and the gene has been transferred to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Banos, Philippines.
It is not clear from the news report if it was IRRI scientists themselves, or other scientists from other countries or private biotech companies, that developed that new rice seed variety. See the full news report below. These tweets were posted from around 7:20am to 8:28am yesterday.
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InterAksyon @interaksyon
Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields by 20 percent http://www.interaksyon.com/article/41177/gene-breakthrough-could-boost-rice-yields-by-20-percent
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@interaksyon Is it patented?
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon Most revolutionary seed varieties (rice, corn, tomato,..) patented. Inventors spend years & big money for R&D
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@Noysky @interaksyon That's their claim.
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon If its not costly to develop revolutionary seed varieties, politicians etc shd cheaply do R&D, give seeds free
InterAksyon @interaksyon
@teddyboylocsin @Noysky Good question. Let's ask IRRI. Research seems attributed to them. Does @RiceResearch patent?
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@Noysky @interaksyon Not when seed companies sue right and left, even on seed varieties native to the place that they patented.
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@interaksyon @Noysky @RiceResearch If IRRI has patent, then it is out our pockets and in our pockets again, so okay. IRRI is ours right?
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon Local seed drought resistant but low yield. Biotech makes drought resistant + high yield, value added, patented
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon @RiceResearch June 2011 abt 112,000+ diff rice varieties in IRRI seedbank, mostly patnted? http://funwithgovernment.blogspot.com/2011/06/on-intellectual-property-abolition-part_14.html
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@Noysky @interaksyon @RiceResearch I hope IRRI is ours or does it do research and Monsanto steals it?
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon @RiceResearch I think biotech like Monsanto, PhilRice do own R&D, patent them, IRRI get sampls for its genebank
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@Noysky @interaksyon @RiceResearch o crap
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon @RiceResearch Most bleeding hearts hate patent, IPR. They want freebies for other people's toil & hard research
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@Noysky @interaksyon @RiceResearch I hardly qualify as a bleeding heart as I am usually heartless.
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@Noysky @interaksyon @RiceResearch Um, where's the hard research by Monsanto when the work is done by Pinoys in IRRI?
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon @RiceResearch Great. Some heartless people hate patent & IPR, want freebies from other people's toil & hard R&D
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@Noysky @interaksyon @RiceResearch And the heartless are the best kind in a fight for proper compensation for intellectual property use.
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon @RiceResearch Right, IPR like patents shd be properly respected & compensated. Disrespect IPR encourge copycat
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @interaksyon @RiceResearch Interaksyon article posted has zero mention of Monsanto. Not all rice R&D are done by IRRI
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Today, IRRI replied to the tweets and here are the exchanges, posted around 8:15 to 9:30am today:
IRRI @RiceResearch
@noysky @teddyboylocsin @interaksyon Thanks for the great conversation! FYI IRRI does not hold any patents - we share all our new...
Teddy Locsin Jr. @teddyboylocsin
@RiceResearch @Noysky @interaksyon Poor you. You do the work, the whites get the money. There is a reason why we are brown.
IRRI @RiceResearch
@noysky @teddyboylocsin @interaksyon For more about who funds our research see http://bit.ly/T0Hmlg
IRRI @RiceResearch
@noysky @teddyboylocsin @interaksyon We work all across the world to share our research to benefit as many farmers as we can :-)
IRRI @RiceResearch
@noysky @teddyboylocsin @interaksyon Here's how we share the rice varieties and info from International Rice Genebank http://bit.ly/O9OSsm
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@teddyboylocsin @RiceResearch @interaksyon Rice gene patents owned by PhilRice, UPLB, Syngenta, Bayer... They all share these to IRRI, good.
Nonoy Oplas @Noysky
@RiceResearch @teddyboylocsin @interaksyon 113,000+ rice genes at IRRI genebank, thx to biotech & patent sys, more varieties are invented.
