Perspectives
This is a curated collection of scholarly and non-scholarly materials that can be found in the Scholarly Literature and Media Coverage databases that are ‘opinion-heavy.’ This collection is intended to capture the full range of thought and opinion about gene drive technologies.
Bioengineering horizon scan 2020
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive syntheticL. Kemp, L. Adam, C. R. Boehm, R. Breitling, R. Casagrande, M. Dando, A. Djikeng, N. G. Evans, R. Hammond, K. Hills, L. A. Holt, T. Kuiken, A. Markotić, P. Millett, J. A. Napier, C. Nelson, S. S. ÓhÉigeartaigh, A. Osbourn, M. J. Palmer, N. J. Patron, E. P, eLife, 9:e54489. 2020.
Horizon scanning is intended to identify the opportunities and threats associated with technological, regulatory and social change. In 2017 some of the present authors conducted a horizon scan for bioengineering (Wintle et al., 2017). Here we report the results of a new horizon ...
Gene Drives: Pursuing opportunities, minimizing risk
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Risk assessmentK. L. Warmbrod, A. Kobokovich, R. West, G. Ray, M. Trotochaud and M. Montague, Center for Health Security, 2020.
This study analyzed the current state of gene drive technologies, the ways in which they might be deployed in the field, and the state of regulatory policy governing their development.
Risk assessment challenges of synthetic gene drive organisms
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyE. Sirinathsinghji, TWN Biosafety Briefing, 2020.
Understanding the Science of Gene Drive and the Potential for an Improved Crop Pest Control System in Nigeria
Tags: Africa, Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Pest managementA. Isah and R. S. M. Gidado, OFAB Nigeria, 2020.
Several studies have shown that the Cas9-mediated gene drive technology is cheaper and will be easily affordable by the efficient Nigerian scientists to explore. The application of the gene drive technologies have many more controls over several other devastating insects in ...
Davos 2020 World Economic Forum | When Humankind Overrides Evolution
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive synthetic, VideoM. Skipper, World Economic Forum, Davos 2020. 2020.
Advances in synthetic biology and other novel genetic procedures could resurrect extinct species or eliminate dangerous pests. What actions are needed now to ensure the ethical and responsible application of new genetic techniques?
Irreversible ecosystem engineering with Gene Drive Organisms
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, PolicySave Our Seeds, Save Our Seeds, 2020.
Gene drive technology is a particular application of the new genetic engineering tool CRISPR/Cas9. It is designed to genetically modify, replace or eradicate wild populations or entire species. So far it works in mosquitos, mice, flies, yeast and nematodes. But in principle it ...
Gene drives : equity demands civility
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive syntheticN. Kofler, Nature, 565:25. 2020.
At the 14th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity late last year, I witnessed the rapid deterioration of a crucial discussion. It was on the potential of synthetic biology in environmental conservation. What started as heckling turned ...
These are the 5 most dystopian technologies of 2020 and beyond
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive syntheticM. Sullivan, FastCompany, 2019.
Tech is always both good and bad. But we live in a time when everything gets weaponized—ideas, images, ancient texts, biases, and even people. And technology provides the tools to do it easier, faster, and with less resources.
Exterminator genes: The right to say no to ethics dumping
Tags: Ethics, Policy, Risk and safetyBassey-Orovwuje, M., J. Thomas and T. Wakeford, Development, 62:121-127. 2019.
The scientific-industrial complex is promoting a new wave of genetically modified organisms, in particular gene drive organisms, using the same hype with which they tried to persuade society that GMOs would be a magic bullet to solve world hunger. The Gates Foundation claims that ...
Gene drives in Africa – A Podcast
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Risk and safetyWakeford, T., etc Group, 2019.
In Episode #1 ETC's Tom Wakeford speaks with Ugandan lawyer and advocate Barbara Ntambirweki about gene drives, a powerful new genetic technology that can change species in the wild and make species go extinct.
Gene drives in Wisconsin agriculture: What are they, and should you support it?
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive syntheticJones, M. and Mitchell, P. D., Renk Agribusiness Institute, 2019.
Spotted wing drosophila and citrus psyllid are not serious economic problems for Wisconsin agriculture. However, these and other smaller, geographically limited applications of gene drives are excellent ways to prove the concept and refine the methods. Pending the outcome of ...
Malaria eradication within a generation: ambitious, achievable, and necessary
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, MalariaR. G. A. Feachem, I. Chen, O. Akbari, A. Bertozzi-Villa, S. Bhatt, F. Binka, M. F. Boni, C. Buckee, J. Dieleman, A. Dondorp, A. Eapen, N. Sekhri Feachem, S. Filler, P. Gething, R. Gosling, A. Haakenstad, K. Harvard, A. Hatefi, D. Jamison, K. E. Jones, C., Lancet, 394:1056-1112. 2019.
50 years after a noble but flawed attempt to eradicate malaria in the mid-20th century, the global malaria community is once again seriously considering eradication. Momentum towards eradication has been building for decades, and more than half of the world’s countries are now ...
Genetically engineered mosquitoes out of control
Tags: Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyGM Watch, GM Watch, 2019.
According to a new scientific publication, genetically engineered mosquitoes produced by the biotech company Oxitec (Intrexon) have escaped human control after trials in Brazil. They are now spreading in the environment. The yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) are genetically ...
Gene drive organisms: What Africa should know about actors, motives and threats to biodiversity and food systems
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Risk and safetySirinathsinghji, E., African Centre for Biodiversity., 2019.
In this briefing paper, we set out the key issues that our governments should have addressed with African civil society before endorsing positions and setting the benchmark for Africa-wide policy. In this regard, we point out that, while the impetus for the AU position might well ...
Gene drive technology makes mouse offspring inherit specific traits from parents
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, RodentsCooper, KLG, Hannah A., The Conversation, 2019.
As mouse geneticists, we spend a lot of time waiting for mice to make more mice. Their small size, ease of care and willingness to mate have made mice the “mammal of choice” for scientists for more than a century. Indeed, these wriggly fur balls that strike fear in the hearts ...
Gene editing research highlights challenges in using CRISPR for pest control
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, RodentsDreaver, C, Radio New Zealand, 2019.
US researchers have had some success in using the gene editing technique CRISPR to test out a gene drive in mice, to modify their genes - highlighting the challenges researchers face if it were to be used in pest eradication.
Gene Drives Work in Mice (if They’re Female)
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, RodentsRennie, JC, Jordana, Quanta Magazine, 2019.
Conservationists and bioethicists often regard the packages of engineered DNA called “gene drives” with a mixture of wonder, excitement and dread. Gene drives violate the normal rules of inheritance by making sure they get passed down to all of their host organism’s ...
Gene drive mosquitoes and the new era of medical colonialism
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, MosquitoesMayet, MC, L. I.; Sirinathsingji, E, GM Watch, 2019.
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 ...
Gene driving the farm: who decides, who owns, and who benefits?
Tags: Agriculture, CRISPR, Ethics, Gene drive, Other arthropods, Risk and safetyMontenegro de Wit, M, Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 43:1054-1074. 2019.
This commentary essay explores the social and ecological implications of gene-driving agriculture.
Sustainability as a framework for considering gene drive mice for invasive rodent eradication
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Governance, Pest management, RodentsBarnhill-Dilling, SKS, M.; Blondel, D. V.; Godwin, J., Sustainability, 11:1334. 2019.
Gene drives represent a dynamic and controversial set of technologies with applications that range from mosquito control to the conservation of biological diversity on islands. Currently, gene drives are being developed in mice that may one day serve as an important tool for ...
Africans paid 69 cents an hour to be bitten in GMO mosquito trial
GM Watch, GMWatch, 2018.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 ...
Africa kicks against proposed gene drive moratorium at UN Biodiversity Conference
Tags: Policy, RegulationGakpo, JO, Cornell Alliance for Science, 2018.
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
Tags: Policy, RegulationFuhr, L, Klima der Gerechtigkeit, 2018.
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 challenged at UN Convention on biodiversity
Tags: Policy, Regulationreporter, A, Ekklesia, 2018.
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 ...
Viewpoint: UN should reject a proposed ban on gene drives
Tags: PolicyBailey, R, Genetic Literacy Project, 2018.
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 ...
Zambian citizens call on leaders to raise concerns on GMOs at upcoming meeting in Egypt
Tags: PolicyBiodiversity, ZAfAa, Lusakatimes, 2018.
Zambia supports the global call for a moratorium on Gene Drive releases, including applied research such as open field trials
Let’s say we can force the mosquito into extinction — should we do it?
Tags: PolicyPorterfield, A, Genetic Literacy Project, 2018.
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, ...
Proposed U.N. test ban on gene drives is idiotic
Tags: PolicyBailey, R, Reason, 2018.
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 ...
Call for a global moratorium on gene drive releases
Network, TW, Biosafety Information Centre, 2018.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 ...
United Nations considers a test ban on evolution-warping gene drives
Regalado, A, MIT Technology Review, 2018.Debate over a new idea for stopping malaria is pitting some environmental groups against Bill Gates.
Do not betray Africa on synbio and gene drives
Tags: Africaetc group, etc group, 2018.
As representatives of a broad range of African civil society organisations (CSOs), we do not feel represented by the delegations of Nigeria and South Africa, speaking on behalf of African Group, in their attempt to speak on behalf of the people of Africa on the issue of synthetic ...
Release of risky GM mosquitoes in Burkina faso highly unethical.
GM Watch, GM Watch, 2018.Risky genetically modified (GM) “male-sterile” mosquitoes are due to be released in the near future in Burkina Faso by the Target Malaria research consortium. However, Target Malaria acknowledges that there are no benefits to the proposed GM mosquito release.; ; According to ...
African Union’s endorsement of unproven gene drive mosquitoes “misguided”
GM Watch, GMWatch, 2018.The African Union (AU) is paving the way for the entry of the latest and most controversial form of genetic engineering – gene drive technologies. In July 2018 the AU released a report endorsing the development of the technology as well as "enabling legislation" for their ...
A Call to Protect Food Systems from Genetic Extinction Technology
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk assessmentGlobal Food and Agriculture Movement, etc Group, 2018.
Gene drives threaten natural systems. If released experimentally into the environment they may spread engineered genes uncontrollably through wild and domesticated species. This could alter ecological systems and food webs, harm biodiversity and eradicate beneficial organisms ...
Just Say No to Agricultural Gene Drives
Tags: Africa, Agriculture, Gene drive syntheticBassey-Orovwuje, M., Project Syndicate, 2018.
By forcing laboratory-made genes on an entire population or species, cutting-edge gene-drive technologies have the power to transform entire ecosystems in one fell swoop. But where leading industrial agriculture firms see dollar signs, farmers in the regions where gene drives ...
Gene drive organisms: Warning of risks due to uncontrolled releases
Then, C, Testbiotech, 2018.The German Ministry for the Environment has in response to an open letter sent by several civil society organisations issued a statement very critical of genetically engineered organisms carrying a so-called gene drive. The ministry announced that it will take action on an ...
Forcing the Farm
Tags: Agriculture, Ecologyetc group, etc group, 2018.
This report is being issued as an alert to governments, civil society organisations and grassroots movements. It points to how gene drives, while promoted as a tool for medicine and conservation, will find their real use in food and farming by agribusiness. It calls for a pause ...
Considerations for the governance of gene drive organisms
Tags: Risk and safetyRudenko, L.P., Megan J.; Oye, Kenneth, Pathogens and Global Health, 2018.
Governance is a broader and more flexible concept than statute-driven regulations as it incorporates components outside the latter?s remit. Considerations of governance are critical in the development of emerging biotechnologies such as gene drive organisms. These have been ...
Editing nature: Local roots of global governance
Tags: Ecology, Ethics, Risk and safetyKofler, N.C., James P.; Kuzma, Jennifer; Marris, Emma; Esvelt, Kevin; Nelson, Michael Paul; Newhouse, Andrew; Rothschild, Lynn J.; Vigliotti, Vivian S.; Semenov, Misha; Jacobsen, Rowan; Dahlman, James E.; Prince, Shannon; Caccone, Adalgisa; Brown, Timothy, Science, 2018.
Transgenic Mosquitoes – Fact or Fiction?
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Risk and safety, Vector controlWilke, A. B. B., J. C. Beier and G. Benelli, Trends in Parasitology, 34:456-465. 2018.
echnologies for controlling mosquito vectors based on genetic manipulation and the release of genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs) are gaining ground. However, concrete epidemiological evidence of their effectiveness, sustainability, and impact on the environment and nontarget ...
Conservation demands safe gene drive
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyK. M. Esvelt and N. J. Gemmell, PLOS Biology, 15:e2003850. 2017.
Here, we explore the risk of accidental spread posed by self-propagating gene drive technologies, highlight new gene drive designs that might achieve better outcomes, and explain why we need open and international discussions concerning a technology that could have global ...
Using CRISPR-based gene drive for agriculture pest control
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementV. Courtier-Orgogozo, B. Morizot and C. Boëte, EMBO Reports, 18:1481. 2017.
The authors respond to comments to their publication 10.15252/embr.201744205
Agricultural pest control with CRISPR-based gene drive: time for public debate
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyV. Courtier-Orgogozo, B. Morizot and C. Boëte, EMBO Reports, 18:878-880. 2017.
Gene drive technology to control disease vectors or pests has great potential for addressing humanitarian and public health problems. Its application for pest control in agriculture, however, raises important environmental, social and ethical issues.
National Academies hit the brakes on gene drive-modified organisms
Tags: Gene driveAbbasi, J., JAMA-Journal of the American Medical Association, 316:482-483. 2016.
Despite their potential for fighting Zika, malaria, and other public health scourges, organisms that have been engineered to quickly spread genetic modifications through a population—and possibly an entire species—are not ready for release into the wild, a committee of ...
Gene Drives on the Horizon: Advancing Science, Navigating Uncertainty, and Aligning Research with Public Values
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, RegulationU. S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, The National Academies Press, 2016.
Scientists have studied gene drives for more than 50 years. The development of a powerful genome editing tool in 2012, CRISPR/Cas9,1 led to recent breakthroughs in gene drive research that built on that half century’s worth of knowledge, and stimulated new discussion of the ...
Opinion: Is CRISPR-based gene drive a biocontrol silver bullet or global conservation threat?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyWebber, BLR, S.; Edwards, O. R., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112:10565-10567. 2015.
Scientists have recognized the potential for applying gene drive technologies to the control of invasive species for several years, yet debate about the application of gene drive has been primarily restricted to mosquitoes. Recent developments in clustered regularly interspaced ...
Safeguarding gene drive experiments in the laboratory
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyAkbari, OSB, H. J.; Bier, E.; Bullock, S. L.; Burt, A.; Church, G. M.; Cook, K. R.; Duchek, P.; Edwards, O. R.; Esvelt, K. M.; Gantz, V. M.; Golic, K. G.; Gratz, S. J.; Harrison, M. M.; Hayes, K. R.; James, A. A.; Kaufman, T. C.; Knoblich, J.; Malik, H. S.; Matthews, K. A.; O'Connor-Giles, K. M.; Parks, A. L.; Perrimon, N.; Port, F.; Russell, S.; Ueda, R.; Wildonger, J., Science, 349:927-929. 2015.
Gene drive systems promote the spread of genetic elements through populations by assuring they are inherited more often than Mendelian segregation would predict (see the figure). Natural examples of gene drive from Drosophila include sex-ratio meiotic drive, segregation ...
Concerning RNA-guided gene drives for the alteration of wild populations
Tags: Ethics, PolicyEsvelt, KMS, Andrea L.; Catteruccia, Flaminia; Church, George M., eLife, 3:e03401. 2014.
Gene drives may be capable of addressing ecological problems by altering entire; populations of wild organisms, but their use has remained largely theoretical due to technical; constraints. Here we consider the potential for RNA-guided gene drives based on the CRISPR; nuclease ...
The Sterile Insect Technique: can established technology beat malaria?
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Mosquitoes, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. E. H. Helinski, B. El-Sayed and B. G. J. Knols, Entomologische Berichten, 66:13-20. 2006.
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is the mass production, sterilisation and subsequent release of sterile insects into a target population in an area-wide integrated approach. The released sterile males mate with wild females; they thus no longer produce offspring and therefore ...
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