An ecologist at the University of California, Berkeley, best known for his outspoken criticism of genetically modified crops and of the university's links with the biotech industry, has been denied tenure. But some of his colleagues are now questioning the integrity of the decision-making process. The Berkeley campus has been wracked by dissent ever since it signed a lucrative deal in 1998 with the Swiss-based firm Novartis, giving the company privileged access to the university's plant scientists. Ignacio Chapela was prominent among a group of vocal protesters against the deal. Subsequently, he became embroiled in controversy after publishing disputed research suggesting that transgenes flowed from modified crops into natural maize in Ms native Mexico.
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