Senior envoys from China and Taiwan signed an agreement Tuesday to cooperate in the development of new drugs, as the two economies continue to move closer.

What will be the tech breakthroughs of the next decade?. What will be the tech breakthroughs of the next decade?

German drug and chemical maker Merck KGaA says it is selling its crop science unit to Novozymes A/S of Denmark for $275 million in a move to focus on its core business.

KANSAS CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amid complaints of environmental harm and pressure from a federal court, U.S. agriculture regulators are considering a compromise approval for genetically altered alfalfa that would allow the crop to be grown with certain restrictions aimed at protecting non-GMO crops, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday.

A White House panel said on Thursday the controversial field of synthetic biology, or manipulating the DNA of organisms to forge new life forms, poses limited risks and should be allowed to proceed.

German chemicals giants Bayer and BASF said Thursday they were teaming up to produce genetically modified rice seeds, technology than can boost yields but which is criticised by environmentalists.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The not-quite-emerged field of synthetic biology -- artificial life -- will need coordinated supervision from the federal government, advisers to President Barack Obama said on Thursday.

A South Korean appeals court Thursday upheld a suspended prison term for a scientist whose claims of stem-cell breakthroughs rocked the scientific world until his research was found to be faked.

South Korean appeals court upholds fraud conviction of disgraced cloning scientist. An appeals court ruled Thursday to uphold most of the fraud convictions against a South Korean scientist disgraced in a cloning scandal that shook the international scientific community.

An appeals court ruled Thursday to uphold most of the fraud convictions against a South Korean scientist disgraced in a cloning scandal that shook the international scientific community.

Medco Health Solutions Inc. says it bought Total Healthcare Group of London, a consulting firm that serves clients in the biotechnology industry. Terms were not disclosed.

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis said on Monday it had extended its bid for US biotechnology group Genzyme without improving an offer that attracted only a fraction of Genzyme shares.

A bid by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis for US biotechnology group Genzyme was approaching a Friday deadline with the parties still at odds.

Greenpeace has handed the European Union Farm Commissioner more than 1 million signatures on a petition against the further spread of genetically modified crops in the EU.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Campaigners presented a petition of more than a million signatures to the EU executive on Thursday, demanding a halt to approvals of new genetically modified (GM) crops.

FORT PIERCE, Florida (Reuters) - For many Americans, few things seem more wholesome than a glass of fresh-squeezed Florida orange juice, the original "natural food." As former beauty queen Anita Bryant chirped more than four decades ago, in what remains a fondly remembered tagline: "A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine."

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amgen Inc <AMGN.O> could pay more than $10 billion for Swiss biotech firm Actelion Ltd <ATLN.VX> without hurting its 2011 earnings, but the deal is unlikely to happen given the lack of business overlap that would allow for cost savings, according to an analyst.

A federal judge in California has ordered the removal from the ground of plants grown to produce seeds for genetically modified sugar beets, citing the potential for environmental harm.

Federal judge says sugar beet seed plants pose serious environmental risk, orders them removed. A federal judge in California has ordered the removal from the ground of plants grown to produce seeds for genetically modified sugar beets, citing the potential for environmental harm.

Federal judge says sugar beet seed plants pose serious environmental risk, orders them removed. A federal judge in California has ordered the removal from the ground of plants grown to produce seeds for genetically modified sugar beets, citing the potential for environmental harm.