Keywords: gene drive news
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Engineering Bugs, Resurrecting Species: The Wild World of Synthetic Biology for ConservationP. Rejcek, Singularity Hub, 2020.
Imagine a world where a mosquito bite is just an itchy annoyance. No malaria. No dengue fever. Last month, scientists announced they had taken one more step toward that vision. A paper in the journal PLOS Pathogens described how they synthetically engineered mosquitoes to stop ... |
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The kill-switch for CRISPR that could make gene-editing saferE. Dolgin, Nature, 577:308-310. 2020.
How anti-CRISPR proteins and other molecules could bolster biosecurity and improve medical treatments. |
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The gene drive dilemma: We can alter entire species but should we?J. Kahn, New York Times Magazine, 2020.One early summer evening in 2018, the biologist Anthony James drove from his office at the University of California, Irvine, to the headquarters of the Creative Artists Agency, a sleek glass-and-steel high-rise in Los Angeles. There, roughly 200 writers, directors and producers ... |
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Red squirrels to thrive again in Britain as new plan considered to eradicate grey breedHudson, W., Express, 2020.
RED SQUIRRELS could soon be thriving in Britain again as a new plan to put an end to destructive grey squirrels is being developed. The 150 year reign of the grey squirrel could come to a halt from DNA editing to ensure all future females are born infertile. Researchers at the ... |
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Scientists want to hack grey squirrels to deathCutlack, C., Gizmodo, 2020.
Scottish scientists are planning to hack the DNA of the often-hated grey squirrel, in hope that selectively breeding a broken female strain could lead to their eventual eradication from the wild. It's the only way a map of Scotland is likely to turn red in the foreseeable future. |
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First they cloned Dolly the sheep. Now they’re targeting grey squirrelsLeake, J., The Times, 2020.
For 150 years they have wreaked havoc on Britain’s woods and wildlife, but the destructive reign of the grey squirrel could soon be over — ended by DNA editing to ensure that all future females are born infertile. Researchers at the Roslin Institute, the genetics laboratory ... |
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Dolly the sheep scientists hope DNA editing can wipe out grey squirrelsMcLaughlin, M., The Scotsman, 2020.
They have been poisoned, shot at, and stumbled into traps laid by those who regard them as a ruinous blight on the country’s woodland and wildlife. But now, the grey squirrel is facing arguably its biggest threat yet, with plans to harness the cutting edge of genetic science ... |
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Gene drives : equity demands civilityN. 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 ... |
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CRISPR-based gene-drives: from eukaryotes to prokaryotesNizet, V., Bioengineering Community, 2019.
Active genetics technology greatly biases transmission of genetic traits, bypassing traditional constraints of Mendelian inheritance and spreading rapidly through wild populations (1). Molecularly defined gene drive constructs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were copied at ... |
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New CRISPR system efficiently battles antibiotic resistanceBlack, Samantha, The Science Advisory Board, 2019.
Researchers from the University of California San Diego have developed a brand new CRISPR-based gene-drive system that dramatically increases the efficiency of inactivation of genes responsible for antibiotic resistance. The new system is detailed on December 16 in Nature ... |
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Antibiotic resistance hoops countered by gene drive feedback loopsGEN, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, 2019.
Where a gene drive that cuts and destroys plasmids may fail, a gene drive that cuts, pastes, and copies plasmids may succeed. The “where,” in this case, is an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that carries multiple copies of an antibiotic-resistance gene. That is, the target ... |
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Gene Drives: Assessing the benefits & risksCreighton, J., Future of Life, 2019.
Most people seem to understand that malaria is a pressing problem, one that continues to menace a number of areas around the world. However, most would likely be shocked to learn the true scale of the tragedy. To illustrate this point, in 2017, more than 200 million people were ... |
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Out for blood: the fight against the planet’s deadliest creatureMatsangou, E., The New Economy, 2019.
The deadliest creature on the planet is not a great white shark, a starved lion, an enraged hippopotamus or a poisonous snake – it’s the minute mosquito. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mosquitoes kill millions of people each year, with malaria – the most ... |
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This gene technology could change the world. Its maker isn’t sure it shouldLove, S., Vice, 2019.
Kevin Esvelt came up with a way to use gene editing for gene drives, a technology that could change the ecological fate of the whole world. How does one scientist deal with the potential ramifications of his own creation? There’s a chilling calculation that’s simple enough ... |
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Wiping out the daughters: Burkina Faso’s controversial mosquito experimentBoersma, H. and J. Bastmeijer, The Guardian, 2019.
A radical experiment to genetically modify a strain of mosquito in order to stop them breeding malaria-carrying daughters is one of the latest efforts to tackle the deadly scourge of malaria |
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Dit Afrikaanse dorp krijgt, als eerste plek ter wereld, gentechmuggen tegen malariaBoersma, Hidde, de Volkskrant, 2019.
Dit Afrikaanse dorp krijgt, als eerste plek ter wereld, gentechmuggen tegen malaria |
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Gene drive technology makes mouse offspring inherit specific traits from parentsCooper, 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 ... |
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Gene drive tested in mice – Expert ReactionScience Media Centre, Science Media Centre, 2019.
Using CRISPR genome editing, the researchers developed a process to make a gene more likely to be inherited than by chance alone. Their attempts with male mice were unsuccessful, but when it was used in females they increased the inheritance of the desired gene from 50 per cent ... |
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Gene editing research highlights challenges in using CRISPR for pest controlDreaver, 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. |
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Tool for controlling genetic inheritance tested in mice for the first timeHays, B, UPI, 2019.
With further development we think it will be possible to make animal models of complex human genetic diseases, like arthritis and cancer, that are not currently possible, said researcher Kimberly Cooper. |
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Gene drive, a powerful way to speed genetic inheritance, shown for first time in mammals, UCSD researchers sayFikes, BJ, San Diego Union Tribune, 2019.
Gene drive -- the ability to shortcut genetic inheritance by propelling a gene throughout a population -- has been demonstrated in principle for the first time in mammals.; ; UC San Diego scientists reported this feat in mice in a study released Wednesday in the journal Nature. ... |
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Gene Drives Work in Mice (if They’re Female)Rennie, 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 ... |
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La reacción genética en cadena llega a los mamíferosMediavilla, D, El Pais, 2019.
Un experimento muestra que la edición de los genes puede introducir cambios en especies completas que permitan incluso su extinción en un área geográfica |
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Researchers first to use CRISPR/Cas9 to control genetic inheritance in miceUniversity of California, Phys Org, 2019.
Biologists at the University of California San Diego have developed the world's first CRISPR/Cas9-based approach to control genetic inheritance in a mammal. |
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Scientists rewrite mice DNA so genes can be spread through speciesSample, I, The Guardian, 2019.
Controversial procedure has huge potential to combat diseases such as malaria |
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US scientists overturn genetic inheritance rules in lab miceCookson, C, Financial Times, 2019.
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 ... |
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Effective strategies for safeguarding CRISPR gene-drive experimentsScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 2019.
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. |
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On the road to a gene drive in mammalsConklin, BR, Nature, 566:43-45. 2019.
A method for making a version of a gene more likely to be inherited than normal, generating what is called a gene drive, might be used to control insect populations. It has now been reported to work in mammals, too. |
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Next-generation CRISPR-based gene drive supports genetic editing with selective precisionAnonymous, International Sugar Journal, 121:411-412. 2019.
New CRISPR-based gene drives and broader active genetics technologies are revolutionizing the way scientists engineer the transfer of specific traits from one generation to another. |
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Target Malaria’s Gene Drive Project Fails to Inform Local Communities of Risks: New Filmetc group, etc group, 2018.
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 ... |
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Africans paid 69 cents an hour to be bitten in GMO mosquito trialGM 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 ... |
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Africa kicks against proposed gene drive moratorium at UN Biodiversity ConferenceGakpo, 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. |
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Burkina Faso’s mosquito controversy: Consent, awareness and risk assessment in Target Malaria’s gene drive projectFuhr, 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 ... |
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Genetic extinction technology challenged at UN Convention on biodiversityreporter, 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 ... |
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Viewpoint: UN should reject a proposed ban on gene drivesBailey, 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 ... |
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Global body to consider moratorium on release of organisms with engineered ‘gene drives’Channel, D, Development Channel, 2018.
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 ... |
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Zambian citizens call on leaders to raise concerns on GMOs at upcoming meeting in EgyptBiodiversity, ZAfAa, Lusakatimes, 2018.
Zambia supports the global call for a moratorium on Gene Drive releases, including applied research such as open field trials |
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Biodiversität durch neue Gentechnik in GefahrGLOBAL 2000, APA-OTS, 2018.
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. ... |
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From geoengineering to gene drives: move over, moratoriaWoods, E, In Verba, 2018.
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 ... |
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Il ricercatore comasco: “Così modifichiamo le zanzare per sconfiggere la malaria”Pioppi, dP, Il Giorno, 2018.
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 ... |
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From terminator to exterminatoretc group, etc group, 2018.
20 years after suicide seeds, civil society mobilizes in Egypt this week to stop the sequel – Gene Drive Organisms |
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Let’s say we can force the mosquito into extinction — should we do it?Porterfield, 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, ... |
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Proposed U.N. test ban on gene drives is idioticBailey, 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 ... |
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Research on gene drive technology can benefit conservation and public health.Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2018.
As a global community, we are facing life-threatening challenges that undermine our future, from catastrophic loss of biodiversity to acute public health threats. |
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Call for a global moratorium on gene drive releasesNetwork, 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 ... |
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Malaria auf die drastische Art bekampfenKusma, S, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 2018.
Gene-Drives sind gentechnische Veränderungen, die sich rasend schnell in Populationen ausbreiten und ganze Arten zum Aussterben bringen könnten. Zur Bekämpfung von Krankheiten birgt das grosses Potenzial. Aber man sollte wissen, was man tut. |
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Scientists divided over new research method to combat malariaSample, I, The Guardian, 2018.
Work on engineered gene used to modify DNA of mosquitoes ‘could be stifled’ by perceived risk to environment |
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United Nations considers a test ban on evolution-warping gene drivesRegalado, A, MIT Technology Review, 2018.
Debate over a new idea for stopping malaria is pitting some environmental groups against Bill Gates. |
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Un organismo genéticamente modificado podría terminar con la malaria y salvar millones de vidasParra, S, Xataka Ciencia, 2018.
Un grupo de investigadores han introducido una mutación de esterilización que ha logrado eliminar las poblaciones de mosquitos de laboratorio en siete a once generaciones. Básicamente, todo depdende del CRISPR, una herramienta desarrollada en la última década que ha ... |
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Do not betray Africa on synbio and gene drivesetc 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 ... |
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GM Mozzies could bite off more than we can shooJordan, B, Times Select, 2018.
The world’s deadliest insect, the mosquito, may have finally met its match – a genetically-modified version of itself. But will the GM variety be friend or foe? And is it safe to release a GM insect into the wild without knowing how far it will spread, or what the long-term ... |
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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 ... |
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Gene drives promise great gains and great dangersThe Economist, The Economist, 2018.
Extinctions are seldom cause for celebration. Humans are wiping out species at a frightening rate, whether hunting them into history or, far more threateningly, damaging the habitats on which they depend. But occasionally, the destruction is warranted. Smallpox was officially ... |
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The promise and peril of gene drivesThe Economist, The Economist, 2018.
I think i got it,” says Alekos Simoni with a grin, returning an electronic fly zapper called “The Executioner” to a nearby metal shelf. With a deft flick of his wrist he has done away with a genetically modified mosquito that was making a bid for freedom. There are many ... |
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South Africa investigates sterilising mosquitoes in anti-malaria driveMuhenga, G, The Conversation, 2018.
South Africa is one of four southern African countries aiming to eliminate malaria transmission by 2023. Indoor residual spraying using DDT and pyrethroid insecticides constitutes the backbone of South Africa’s malaria control programmes.; ; Effective vector control by indoor ... |
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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 ... |
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Scientists near malaria eliminationMuanya, C, The Guardian, 2018.
Scientists are getting closer in efforts to eliminate malaria with new genetic engineering tool. Scientists have devised a gene drive that wiped out the mosquito’s populations in lab tests. They say gene editing may push a species of malaria-carrying mosquito to extinction. |
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EU Adopts Negotiating Position for 2018 Biodiversity ConferenceTsioumani, E, International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018.
The Council of the EU calls for increased efforts to fully achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and for the adoption of an ambitious follow-up to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, to strengthen implementation of the CBD and its Protocols, as well as of other ... |
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GM mosquitoes in Burkina Faso: Scientists hope to end malaria with genetically modified mosquitoesTimesNowNews, TimesNow, 2018.
Scientists are determined that the release of the genetically engineered mosquitoes in Africa will help eradicate malaria in the region that kills nearly three million people worldwide every year. |
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New GM ‘eradication’ techniques pose grave threat to ecosystemsLaroux, J, The Greens| The European Free Alliance, 2018.
Do you remember those US “radiation movies” from the 1950s and 60s, where mutated animals wreaked havoc, like in the now cult film Them (featuring James Whitemore and some very clever and scary giant ants)? The point that these films were making, apart from the inherent ... |
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Gene drive organisms: German ministry warns of risks from releasesGM Watch, GMWatch, 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 ... |
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Forcing the Farmetc 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 ... |
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Gene drive used to turn all female mosquitos sterileTimmer, J, ARS Technica, 2018.
We've known for a long time that we can limit malaria infections by controlling the mosquitos that transmit them. But that knowledge hasn't translated into control efforts that have always been completely successful. Many of the approaches we've used to control mosquitos have ... |
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Malaria mosquitoes wiped out in lab trials of gene drive testingKelland, K, The Wire, 2018.
London: Scientists have succeeded in wiping out a population of caged mosquitoes in laboratory experiments using a type of genetic engineering known as a gene drive, which spread a modification blocking female reproduction.; ; The researchers, whose work was published on Monday ... |
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Gene drives breakthrough needs urgent restraintSteinbrecher, R, GMWatch, 2018.
Gene drive researchers associated with Target Malaria and funded by US DARPA, the GATES Foundation and the UK BBSRC have just managed to crash a population of caged mosquitoes after 7-11 generations.(1); ; This is a first, and it has brought this technology beyond the proof of ... |
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Here’s the Plan to End Malaria With Crispr-Edited MosquitoesMolteni, M, Wired, 2018.
In 2003, scientists at London’s Imperial College hatched a somewhat out-there idea. They wanted to deal with the increasingly pesticide-resistant mosquitoes that were killing half a million people a year by spreading malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. What biologists Austin Burt ... |
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Editing nature: Local roots of global governanceKofler, 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.
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Gene Editing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)J. Oliver, HBO, 2018.
Scientists are developing new ways to alter the genetic code of living organisms. John Oliver explores the risks, rewards, and wolf-related hazards of gene editing. |
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Gene drive technology considered in the fight to save native animals from feral catsSmail, S, ABC News Online, 2018.
Feral cats kill thousands of native animals every minute — now a controversial plan to use gene drive technology as a weapon against them is being considered by the Federal Government |
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Gene drive gets safety features limiting risk for a tool that could alter entire speciesCollins, CH, Scientific American, 319:37-38. 2018.
Research into a genetic engineering technology that can permanently change the traits of a population or even an entire species is progressing rapidly. The approach uses gene drives—genetic elements that pass from parents to unusually high numbers of their offspring, thereby ... |
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Ban on ‘gene drives’ is back on the UN’s agenda – worrying scientistsCallaway, E, Nature, 563:454-455. 2018.
Government representatives from nearly 170 countries will this month consider whether to temporarily ban the release of organisms carrying gene drives — a controversial technology that can quickly propagate a chosen gene throughout a population. The technique has the potential ... |
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Editing nature: Local roots of global governanceKofler, NC, 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; Schmitz, Oswald J., Science, 362:527. 2018.
The end of malaria. Restored island habitats. Resiliency for species threatened by climate change. Many envisioned environmental applications of newly developed gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR might provide profound benefits for ecosystems and society. But depending on the ... |
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Precaution: Open gene drive researchEsvelt, KM, Science, 355:589-590. 2017.
IN THEIR POLICY Forum “Precaution and governance of emerging technologies” (11 November 2016, p. 710), G. E. Kaebnick and colleagues convincingly assert that precaution is consistent with support for science. However, they overlook one way to improve safety while hastening ... |
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Principles for gene drive researchEmerson, CJ, Stephanie; Littler, Katherine; Randazzo, Filippo, Science, 358:1135. 2017.
The recent outbreak of Zika virus in the Americas renewed attention on the importance of vector-control strategies to fight the many vector-borne diseases that continue to inflict suffering around the world. In 2015, there were ?212 million infections and a death every minute ... |
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Sry gene drive for rodent control: Reply to Gemmell and TompkinsKanavy, DS, M., Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 32:315-316. 2017.
We would like to thank Gemmell and Tompkins for their interest and comments onthe articlebyPiaggioet al. [1].Theissues raised by Gemmell and Tompkins [2] are very pertinent, and they correctly identified that the format of the article did not lend itself to a comprehensive ... |
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CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive: Growing pains for a new technologyReed, FA, Genetics, 205:1037-1039. 2017.
In this commentary, Floyd Reed discusses Unckless et al. (2017),; “Evolution of resistance against CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive,”; which was published in the February issue of GENETICS. |
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Driving out malariaNolan, TC, A., Scientist, 2017.
In recent years, researchers have sequenced the genomes of several Anopheles mosquito species, including those responsible for nearly all of the malaria transmission in Africa. With this information, they have begun to identify the genes underlying the insects’ ability to ... |
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National Academies hit the brakes on gene drive-modified organismsAbbasi, 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 ... |
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The Case for a Global Moratorium on Genetically-engineered Gene DrivesCivil Society Working Group on Gene Drives, SynBioWatch, 2016.
In view of the significant ecological, cultural and societal threats posed by genetically-engineered gene drives, including threats to biodiversity, national sovereignty, peace and food security, we the undersigned call upon governments at the 13th Conference of the Parties to ... |
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Gene drive organisms not ready for environmental releaseWidener, A, Chemical & Engineering News, 2016.
Gene drive technologies have the potential to make important contributions to public health and the environment, but organisms created using them should not be released into the environment at this time, according to a report from the National Academy of Sciences. Gene drives use ... |
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Target Malaria has a killer in its sights: Eliminating the world’s deadliest disease has been a priority for decades, and, thanks to innovative gene-drive technology, Target Malaria is getting closer to achieving that goalBanks, J, IEEE Pulse, 7:30-33. 2016.
The mosquito is the deadliest animal in the world (Figure 1). It is the main carrier of parasites that cause malaria, which is a bigger killer than any other disease in history; in fact, some blame malaria for the deaths of half the humans who have ever lived. Today, malaria ... |
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Putting the brakes on CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive systemsGraham, DM, Lab Animal, 45:47-47. 2016.
The sudden emergence and worldwide adoption of CRISPR gene-editing technology confronts humanity with unprecedented opportunities and choices. CRISPR's transformative impact on our future understanding of biology, along with its potential to unleash control over the most ... |
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Gene drive turns mosquitoes into malaria fightersPennisi, E, Science, 350:1014-1014. 2015.
The war against malaria has a new ally: a controversial technology for spreading genes throughout a population of animals. In the laboratory, researchers have harnessed a so-called gene drive to efficiently endow mosquitoes with genes that make them immune to the malaria ... |
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The mutagenic chain reaction: A method for converting heterozygous to homozygous mutationsV. M. Gantz and E. Bier, Science, 348:442. 2015.
Loss-of-function mutations may only produce a mutant phenotype when both copies of the gene are mutated. Gantz and Bier developed a method they call mutagenic chain reaction (MCR) that autocatalytically produces homozygous mutations. MCR uses the initial mutated allele to cause a ... |
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Gene drive overdriveDeFrancesco, L, Nature Biotechnology, 33:1019-1021. 2015.
The recent publication of a simple procedure for creating a CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene drive has some researchers sounding the alarm. What are the risks to populations in the wild and what precautions are necessary? Laura DeFrancesco investigates. |
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GM mosquitoes a ‘quantum leap’ towards tackling malariaA. Vaughan, Guardian, 2014.
New technique injects mosquitoes with a gene that results in mostly male offspring, eventually leading to a population crash |
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Big Agriculture eyeing genetic tool for pest controlPTI Feed, India, 2008.
A controversial and unproven gene-editing technology touted as a silver bullet against malaria-bearing mosquitos could wind up being deployed first in commercial agriculture, according to experts and an NGO report published Tuesday.; ; So-called “gene drives” force ... |
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Researchers eliminate mosquito population through CRISPR gene editing technologyGoss, L, Pharmafile, 2008.
Researchers at Imperial College London have been able to wipe out a population of mosquitoes through ‘gene drive’ technology. The study, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology saw a CRISPR edited gene being used to prevent female mosquitos from being born.; ; As such ... |
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Genetics-driving genes and chromosomesCharlesworth, B, Nature, 332:394-395. 1988.
Thereare several genetic and chromosomal systems in which Mendel's first law - the equal probability of transmission of maternal and paternal alternative alleles or homologues - is violated. This phenomenon was named 'meiotic drive' in 1957 by Sandler and Novitski, who drew ... |
