Keywords: Europe

Gene drives. Technologies for spreading genetic modifications in populations. TAB-Fokus

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König, H., Kolleck, A., Sauter, A.,  TAB-Fokus,  48. 2025.
Gene drives have the potential to help solve major challenges, including the fight against invasive species or vector-borne diseases such as malaria. These hopes are offset by technical and scientific challenges as well as environmental risks. The policy brief TAB-Fokus no. 48 on ...

Exploring new tools to fight vector-borne diseases: research and governance implications

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Alekos Simoni,  Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research,  2024.
I recently had the honor and pleasure of attending an event co-organized by the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research at the European Parliament in Brussels, and delivering a presentation on our work at Target Malaria to develop new genetic tools to reduce malaria ...

Engagement on risk assessment for gene drive mosquitoes by EFSA and Target Malaria

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S. Hartley, A. Kokotovich, Y. Devos and J. Mumford,  Environmental Science and Policy,  142:183-193. 2023.
As engineered gene drive technologies continue to advance, many actors are actively considering how environmental risk assessments (RAs) for gene drive organisms should be conducted, and how stakeholder engagement opportunities should be provided. There is, however, a lack of ...

Gene Drive-Modified Organisms: Developing Practical Risk Assessment Guidance

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Devos, Yann et al. Trends in Biotechnology,  Volume 39, Issue 9:853 – 856. 2021.

Why the EU should back research into gene drive – even if Europe never uses it

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R. Müller,  The Brussels Times,  2021.
As the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy reaches the European Parliament, it has reopened a worrying debate about research into gene drive technology, a tool which could pave the way for biasing the inheritance of desired genetic traits through targeted species. Advances in this kind ...

Further guidance required for assessment of gene drive technology, says EFSA

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Euractiv,  The World News Monitor,  2020.
Existing guidelines are adequate for evaluating risks associated with gene-drive modified insects, but further guidance is needed for some areas, most notably for environmental risk assessments. The evaluation was requested to explore the issue ahead of the consideration of any ...

Mutagenic chain reaction cannot be sufficiently controlled

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Christoph Then,  Testbiotech,  2020.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published the results of its public consultation on the risks of so-called gene drive organisms. Testbiotech accuses the authority of disguising the real dimension of the risks. Gene drives are designed to spread artificial genetic ...

Outcome of a public consultation on the draft adequacy and sufficiency evaluation of existing EFSA guidelines for the molecular characterisation, environmental risk assessment and post-market environmental monitoring of genetically modified insects containing engineered gene drives

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European Food Safety Authority, Y. Devos, M. B. Bonsall, F. Nogué, K. Paraskevopoulos, E. A. Wimmer and L. G. Firbank,  EFSA Supporting Publications,  17:1939E. 2020.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) carried out an online public consultation to receive input from interested parties/persons on the draftscientific opinion on the adequacy and sufficiencyevaluation of existing guidelines for the molecular characterisation (MC), ...

Adequacy and sufficiency evaluation of existing EFSA guidelines for the molecular characterisation, environmental risk assessment and post‐market environmental monitoring of genetically modified insects containing engineered gene drives

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EFSA,  2020.

The value of existing regulatory frameworks for the environmental risk assessment of agricultural pest control using gene drives

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Jörg Romeis, Jana Collatz, Debora C.M. Glandorf, Michael B. Bonsall,  Environmental Science & Policy,  Volume 108:Pages 19-36. 2020.

The EU not ready for the release of Gene drive organisms into the environment.

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Pensoft Publishers,  ScienceDaily,  2020.
In their study, published in the open-access journal BioRisk, an international group of scientists led by Marion Dolezel from the Environment Agency Austria, discuss the potential risks and impacts on the environment.

Beyond limits – the pitfalls of global gene drives for environmental risk assessment in the European Union

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M. Dolezel, C. Lüthi and H. Gaugitsch,  BioRisk,  15:1-29. 2020.
We evaluate the novel features of GDOs and outline the resulting challenges for the environmental risk assessment.

Outcome of a public consultation on the draft adequacy and sufficiency evaluation of existing EFSA guidelines for the molecular characterisation, environmental risk assessment and post-market environmental monitoring of genetically modified insects containing engineered gene drives

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EFSA,  2020.

Stakeholder workshop: Problem formulation for the environmental risk assessment of gene drive modified insects (15 May 2019, Brussels)

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European Food Safety Authority (EFSA): Yann Devos, Barbara Gallani, Leslie G Firbank.,  EFSA Supporting Publications,  Vol 17 (3). 2020.

Using problem formulation for fit-for-purpose pre-market environmental risk assessments of regulated stressors

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Yann Devos, Wendy Craig, Robert H Devlin, Alessio Ippolito, Rosalind A Leggatt, Jorg Romeis, Richard Shaw, Claus Svendsen and Christopher J Topping,  EFSA Journal,  2019;17(S1):e170708. 2019.

The EU regulatory framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

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Bruetschy, C,  Transgenic Research,  28:169-174. 2019.
The European Union (EU) legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) aims to ensure a high level of protection for human, animal and environmental health and a well-functioning EU internal market. The framework regulates the release of GMOs into the environment and their ...

Guidance on the use of the weight of evidence approach in scientific assessments

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EFSA Scientific Committee, Anthony Hardy, Diane Benford, Thorhallur Halldorsson, Michael John Jeger, Helle Katrine Knutsen, Simon More, Hanspeter Naegeli, Hubert Noteborn et al.,  EFSA Journal,  15 (8): 4971. 2017.

Scientific opinion addressing the safety assessment of plants developed through cisgenesis and intragenesis

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EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy,  EFSA Journal,  0 (2): 2561. 2012.

Scientific opinion addressing the safety assessment of plants developed using Zinc Finger Nuclease 3 and other Site-Directed Nucleases with similar function

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EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy.,  EFSA Journal,  2012; 10 (10): 2943. 2012.

Directive 2009/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms (Recast) (1)

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European Parliament,,  Official Journal of the European Union L 125,  52:75. 2009.
Whereas: (1 )Council Directive 90/219/EEC of 23 April 1990 on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms (3) has been substantially amended several times (4). Since further amendments are to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity. (2) Under ...

DIRECTIVE 2001/18/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC

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THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL,  2001.