Dear Colleagues,

Allow me to take a minute to introduce my new book - Genetically
Modified Crops (Imperial College Press).

Plant molecular biology came to the fore in the early 1980s and there
has been tremendous growth in the subject since then. The study of
plant genes and genomes and the development of techniques for the
incorporation of novel or modified genes into plants eventually led to
the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops in the
mid-1990s. This was seen as the start of a biotechnological revolution
in plant breeding. However, plant biotechnology has become one of the
hottest debates of the age and, in Europe at least, one of the
greatest challenges that plant scientists have ever faced.

This book describes the history and development of the science and
techniques that underpin plant biotechnology, GM crops that are grown
commercially around the world and the new varieties that are being
developed. It covers failures as well as successes. The safety record
of GM crops is reviewed together with the legislation that has been
adopted to cover their use. The book also deals with the concerns of
consumers, the GM crop debate and the prospects for the technology.

For table of contents and more details, please visit the publisher's
web site at http://www.icpress.co.uk/books/lifesci/p284.html

Sincerely,
Nigel Halford
Author of Genetically Modified Crops