TOKYO, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Japan will study whether to allow meat and dairy products from cloned animals to be served at homes and restaurants, the government said Wednesday.

TOKYO, March 31, 2008 (AFP) - Japanese researchers said Monday that they had succeeded in curing liver cirrhosis in rats and hope to apply the remedy to humans suffering from the chronic disease.

PARIS, March 30, 2008 (AFP) - Researchers have uncovered new genetic clues for diabetes and cancer of the colon and rectum, according to papers published on Sunday in the journal Nature Genetics.

BRUSSELS, March 28, 2008 (AFP) - The European Commission authorised on Friday a strain of genetically modified maize for import and processing but maintained a ban on its cultivation in the 27-nation bloc.

The strain, known as GA21, is already authorised for use in food and feed.

PARIS, March 26, 2008 (AFP) - A US research team on Wednesday urged strong caution over a prototype gene treatment that has generated billions of dollars in investment as a hoped-for cure for cancer, diabetes and other diseases.

PARIS, March 19, 2008 (AFP) - A group of French farmers on Wednesday lost a bid to overturn a government ban on a strain of genetically-modified corn, a month after it came into force.

PARIS, March 12, 2008 (AFP) - Geneticists have identified a super gene which causes breast cancer to metastasise, the deadly process by which the disease spreads to other organs, according to a study released Wednesday.

SAO PAULO, March 7, 2008 (AFP) - Around 300 women rural residents in Brazil burst into a property owned by the US company Monsanto and destroyed a plant nursery and crops containing genetically modified corn, their organization said.

The women were protesting what they saw as environmental damage by the crops.

BRUSSELS, March 3, 2008 (AFP) - France on Monday proposed scrapping the EU's present system for authorising genetically modified crops for tougher standards which take into account a wide range of environmental and safety factors.

BRUSSELS, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) - EU farm ministers failed on Monday to agree whether to allow new strains of genetically modified maize and potato, amid persisting divisions over biotech products.

'There wasn't a qualified majority either in favour or against' for the products, a diplomat said.