Gene Drive in the News
A curated collection of articles from the popular press
Scientists rewrite mice DNA so genes can be spread through species
4539Sample, I, The Guardian, 2019-01-23 00:00:00.
Controversial procedure has huge potential to combat diseases such as malaria
US scientists overturn genetic inheritance rules in lab mice
4530Cookson, C, Financial Times, 2019-01-23 00:00:00.
New gene drive technology that could revolutionise biology research has been demonstrated for the first time in mammals, after US scientists overturned the normal rules of genetic inheritance in laboratory mice.; ; Scientists at the University of California San Diego employed the technology to turn a group of lab mice white, using a complex DNA editing procedure that allowed a white-coat mutation to spread through successive generations of animals with unnatural speed.
Effective strategies for safeguarding CRISPR gene-drive experiments
4540ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 2019-01-22 00:00:00.
Researchers have demonstrated for the first time how two molecular strategies can safeguard CRISPR gene-drive experiments in the lab, according to a new study.
Gene drive mosquitoes and the new era of medical colonialism
4536Mayet, MC, L. I.; Sirinathsingji, E, GM Watch, 2019-01-22 00:00:00.
The highly contentious issue of gene drive technologies – a novel extreme form of genetic engineering designed to alter or even eradicate entire populations and species – was at the heart of the international negotiations at the biennial UN Biodiversity Conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2018.
Target Malaria’s Gene Drive Project Fails to Inform Local Communities of Risks: New Film
etc group, etc group, 2018-12-19 00:00:00.Target Malaria, a research consortium that aims to eradicate malaria-carrying species of mosquitoes using new genetic modification tools, does not have proper consent from communities for its experiment. That is the main message of a new short film that is being released this week.; ; “A Question of Consent: Exterminator Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso” documents conversations with residents of the areas where Target Malaria is conducting tests, as well as opposition from civil society groups in the region.; ; The film’s revelations pose problems for the project, backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Open Philanthropy Project and the US Military.
Africans paid 69 cents an hour to be bitten in GMO mosquito trial
GM Watch, GMWatch, 2018-12-18 00:00:00.Under the headline, Malaria trial pays Africans to be bitten, The Times of London reports that human “guinea pigs” in the West African state of Burkina Faso are being paid to expose themselves to mosquitoes that could potentially carry malaria or other diseases. ; ; Although the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $70 million in the project, The Times reports that about 25 African “volunteers” in the village of Bana are being paid just 69 cents (£0.55) an hour to expose their legs for six hours a night to all mosquitoes in their local environment, as part of a GMO mosquito trial.
Africa kicks against proposed gene drive moratorium at UN Biodiversity Conference
4560Gakpo, JO, Cornell Alliance for Science, 2018-11-20 00:00:00.
Africa has kicked against a proposed moratorium on the environmental release of organisms containing gene drives now under debate at the United Nation’s biodiversity conference in Egypt.
Burkina Faso’s mosquito controversy: Consent, awareness and risk assessment in Target Malaria’s gene drive project
4559Fuhr, L, Klima der Gerechtigkeit, 2018-11-20 00:00:00.
The 14th Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from the 17th to the 29th of November, 2018. Amongst other things, delegates are discussing a moratorium on the release of gene drives, a powerful genetic extinction technology.
Genetic extinction technology challenged at UN Convention on biodiversity
4582reporter, A, Ekklesia, 2018-11-20 00:00:00.
From November 17-29 2018, international conservation and environmental leaders are meeting to call on governments to protect biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights from controversial new biotechnologies. Friends of the Earth says gene drives have the capacity to wipe out or alter species forever, and to significantly disrupt or modify the ecosystems on which humanity strongly depends for its survival. Gene drives pose serious and potentially irreversible threats to biodiversity and ecosystems, human health, as well as national sovereignty, peace and food sovereignty.
Viewpoint: UN should reject a proposed ban on gene drives
4544Bailey, R, Genetic Literacy Project, 2018-11-20 00:00:00.
A draft resolution would revise the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity to call on governments to “refrain from” releasing organisms containing engineered gene drives, according to the MIT Technology Review. A gene drive is a technology that can rapidly propagate a particular set of genes throughout a population, including genes that cause sterility in a species.
Global body to consider moratorium on release of organisms with engineered ‘gene drives’
4549Channel, D, Development Channel, 2018-11-19 00:00:00.
Governments from across the globe will consider imposing a temporary ban on the release of organisms carrying altered genes that can propagate through a population, as the consequence of deployment of the technology, which has the potential to eradicate disease, control pests and alter entire ecosystems is thought to be unpredictable.
Zambian citizens call on leaders to raise concerns on GMOs at upcoming meeting in Egypt
4546Biodiversity, ZAfAa, Lusakatimes, 2018-11-17 00:00:00.
Zambia supports the global call for a moratorium on Gene Drive releases, including applied research such as open field trials
Biodiversität durch neue Gentechnik in Gefahr
GLOBAL 2000, APA-OTS, 2018-11-16 00:00:00.on 17. bis 29. November findet die 14. Vertragsparteienkonferenz des UN-Übereinkommens über die biologische Vielfalt (CBD COP 14) in Sharm El Sheikh, Ägypten, statt. Neben den zahlreichen Artenschutz-Themen muss heuer der Neuen Gentechnik besondere Relevanz beigemessen werden. Unter dem Schlagwort “Synthetic Biology” werden auch Techniken wie CRISPR zusammengefasst. Dazu gab es am 25. Juli diesen Jahres zumindest für die EU seitens des EuGH eine klare Entscheidung. CRISPR und andere neue gentechnische Methoden (und deren Produkte) sind als Gentechnik zu klassifizieren. ”Diese klare Klassifizierung sollte nicht auf die EU beschränkt bleiben. Auf der UN-Konferenz sollten sich die Vertragspartner einigen, dass diese klare Regelung für alle Partnerländer gilt“, betont Heidemarie Porstner, Gentechniksprecherin der österreichischen Umweltschutzorganisation GLOBAL 2000. Der Schutz der Umwelt und der menschlichen Gesundheit stehen laut dem EuGH-Urteil im Vordergrund. Überdies hat das Vorsorgeprinzip zu gelten. Durch die Entscheidung gibt es eine klare Regulierung, Zulassungsverfahren, Risikobewertung und Kennzeichnung.
From geoengineering to gene drives: move over, moratoria
4592Woods, E, In Verba, 2018-11-16 00:00:00.
Around this time six years ago I was in Hyderabad in India getting to grips with moratoria. Back then conversations revolved around geoengineering – techniques to reduce global warming by intervening in the Earth’s climate system – and whether a ban on geoengineering research should be adopted by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD).
Il ricercatore comasco: “Così modifichiamo le zanzare per sconfiggere la malaria”
Pioppi, dP, Il Giorno, 2018-11-16 00:00:00.Un elemento genetico in grado di intervenire sul cromosoma della zanzara, privandola della possibilità di trasmettere la malaria, che costituisce la prima causa di mortalità al mondo. Rendendo così immuni intere popolazioni. La tecnologia che consente questo risultato, si chiama «Gene Drive», e da una decina di anni è il campo di ricerca su cui si è concentrato Valentino Gantz, 34 anni, biologo molecolare comasco – anzi, per la precisione «Assistant Research Scientist» - che dal 2008 fa parte dell’organico dell’Università di San Diego, in California. Prima con un dottorato durato sette anni, e poi come ricercatore nel laboratorio del professor Ethan Bier. Qui le ricerche erano partite dallo studio dell’evoluzione delle venature delle ali delle mosche, per poi sfociare, come spiega lo stesso ricercatore «nello studio di un elemento genetico che si potesse diffondere in un’intera popolazione della stessa specie».
From terminator to exterminator
4556etc group, etc group, 2018-11-15 00:00:00.
20 years after suicide seeds, civil society mobilizes in Egypt this week to stop the sequel – Gene Drive Organisms
Let’s say we can force the mosquito into extinction — should we do it?
4579Porterfield, A, Genetic Literacy Project, 2018-11-15 00:00:00.
Not many people like mosquitoes. So why not eliminate them?; Newer techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing may make this possible. A new study by researchers at Imperial College London showed how CRISPR/Cas9 can generate a mutant gene that renders female mosquitos infertile, while males can spread the same mutation to offspring. Using a genetic tweak called gene drive, the scientists found they could extend the mutation in subsequent offspring at high enough rates to offset the effects of normal versions of the gene. This essentially wiped out the test population of Anopheles gambiae, a species of mosquito responsible for spreading malaria.
Proposed U.N. test ban on gene drives is idiotic
4543Bailey, R, Reason, 2018-11-15 00:00:00.
A draft resolution would revise the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity to call on governments to "refrain from" releasing organisms containing engineered gene drives, according to the MIT Technology Review. A gene drive is a technology that can rapidly propagate a particular set of genes throughout a population, including genes that cause sterility in a species.
Research on gene drive technology can benefit conservation and public health.
4576Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2018-11-14 00:00:00.
As a global community, we are facing life-threatening challenges that undermine our future, from catastrophic loss of biodiversity to acute public health threats.
Call for a global moratorium on gene drive releases
Network, TW, Biosafety Information Centre, 2018-11-13 00:00:00.Gene drives are a genetic engineering tool that aim to force artificial genetic changes through entire populations of animals, insects and plants. Starting on the 17th of November, Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity will meet to discuss measures to control this technology, including a possible moratorium on environmental releases. (Item 1)
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