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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Development of New Therapeutic Applications Using Microfluidics
Published on: October 1, 2007
Biotech's defining moments
1The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6010, USA. miller@hoover.stanford.edu
Abstract:
Confusion about terms related to biotechnology--genetic modification, GMOs, genetic engineering, transgenic, and all the rest--has been around for decades. This definitional dysfunction has created myriad opportunities for mischief and given rise to widespread over-regulation, diminished agricultural R&D, ill-advised conferences and risk assessment studies, flawed analyses (including a recent tome from the OECD), fear-mongering by NGOs, and a perplexed public. Greater precision in terminology would improve the lot of scientists, the quality of public policy and, eventually, human and environmental health.
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