Care2 | October 12, 2012

The Monsanto company has forged a new partnership with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company whose primary focus seems to be on figuring out how to best crack the genetic code so as to manipulate the way genes inherently express themselves. And based on the agreement the two companies have made publicly with one another, it appears as though Monsanto is planning to utilize Alnylam’s proprietary gene-silencing technologies in its emerging agricultural pursuits, which will likely spawn a whole new category of problems for humanity and the planet at large.

In a recent press release, Monsanto disclosed that it has officially obtained “worldwide, exclusive rights” to use Alnylam’s platform technology and intellectual property (IP) in its own agricultural products, and particularly in its new “BioDirect” line of products designed to treat seeds and crops with what the company has dubbed “biopesticides.” Monsanto apparently sees something exceptionally valuable in Alnylam’s technologies that it does not currently possess, and is now seeking to leverage it for the purpose of expanding its own market share. But what is it?

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/monsanto-acquires-gene-silencing-technology.html#ixzz29DcnY54q