Keywords: popular press

Gene drives as a gene modification tool. A scientific overview.

Ashan Ali,  TechnologyTimes,  2020.
We have heard a lot of genes and chromosomes. But we have not heard about gene drives. In this article, we are going to get an overview of gene drives. Gene Drive is basically a genetic engineering technique that helps in the accumulation and propagation of a particular set of ...
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What is a gene drive?

Donayvn Coffer,  LiveScience,  2020.
A gene drive is a type of genetic engineering technique that modifies genes so that they don’t follow the typical rules of heredity. Gene drives dramatically increase the likelihood that a particular suite of genes will be passed onto the next generation, allowing the genes to ...
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The risks of using gene drives to get rid of ‘pesky species’

R. Lewis,  Genetic Literacy Project,  2020.
The mammals of New Zealand have long posed a threat to native species. The Predator Free 2050 program is an effort to rid the island of these invaders – including using the tools of CRISPR-based genome editing to create a gene drive to jumpstart extinctions. It’s a very ...
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Gene Drives: New and Improved

R. M. Friedman, J. M. Marshall and O. S. Akbari,  Issues in Science and Technology,  36:1-7. 2020.
Our goal here is to describe the various options under development in nontechnical terms for a policy-making audience, review how far along each is, and examine the broader context of how this new suite of technologies compares with other available alternatives. Early engagement ...
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Gene drives in Africa – A Podcast

Wakeford, 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.
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Tackling antibiotic resistance head-on with CRISPR

Thomas, L.,  News Medical Life Sciences,  2019.
With modern advances in genetic engineering occurring almost every day, the latest discovery concerns antibiotic resistance. Using the powerful gene editor CRISPR, scientists reported the development of a gene-drive system that is 100 times as efficient as other current systems ...
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Gene Drives: Assessing the benefits & risks

Creighton, 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 creature

Matsangou, 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 should

Love, 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 experiment

Boersma, 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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A Controversial Swarm Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes In A Lab In Italy

NPR,  ,  2019.
An international team of scientists is conducting a controversial experiment in Italy. The experiment is designed to test genetically modified mosquitoes that researchers hope could provide a powerful new weapon to fight malaria, which remains one of the world's greatest ...
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Genetically engineered mosquitoes out of control

GM 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 ...
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Dit Afrikaanse dorp krijgt, als eerste plek ter wereld, gentechmuggen tegen malaria

Boersma, Hidde,  de Volkskrant,  2019.
Dit Afrikaanse dorp krijgt, als eerste plek ter wereld, gentechmuggen tegen malaria
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Gene drive mosquitoes and the new era of medical colonialism

Mayet, 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 ...
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GM Mozzies could bite off more than we can shoo

Jordan, 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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The promise and peril of gene drives

The 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 drive

Muhenga, 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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Scientists near malaria elimination

Muanya, 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 Conference

Tsioumani, 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 mosquitoes

TimesNowNews,  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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Synthetic biology mosquitoes: Pioneering solution emerges to counter fears over using genetic engineerting to control Zika

English, C,  Genetic Literacy Project,  2018.
In fall 2015, the biotech company Oxitec planned to release genetically engineered mosquitoes throughout the Florida Keys capable of stopping their wild relatives from spreading Zika, a dangerous virus that causes birth defects and damages the nervous system. These lab-bread ...
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New GM ‘eradication’ techniques pose grave threat to ecosystems

Laroux, 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 releases

GM 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 Farm

etc 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 sterile

Timmer, 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 testing

Kelland, 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 restraint

Steinbrecher, 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 Mosquitoes

Molteni, 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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A swarm of mutant mosquitoes is out to eradicate malaria

O'Mahony, J,  Wired,  2018.
Over the next year in the village of Bana, Burkina Faso, a group of scientists will set loose up to 10,000 mosquitoes sprinkled with fluorescent dust. The sterile, male swarm will represent the first ever release of a genetically modified, malaria carrying mosquito species into ...
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Gene Drive

Collins, CH,  Scientific American,  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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Gene Drive

Collins, CH,  Scientific American,  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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When Evolution Fights Back Against Genetic Engineering

Borel, B,  Quanta Magazine,  2018.
In a crowded auditorium at New York’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in August, Philipp Messer, a population geneticist at Cornell University, took the stage to discuss a powerful and controversial new application for genetic engineering: gene drives.; ; Gene drives can force a ...
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Letter: Gene Drive and Trust in Science

Boëte, C,  GeneWatch,  2018.
In a recent paper, Emerson et al. present five principles for gene drive research that they argue should be adopted by its sponsors and supporters: 1) advancing quality science to promote the public good; 2) the promotion of stewardship, safety, and good governance principles; 3) ...
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Gene drives accelerate evolution – but we need brakes

Tsai, Y-HP, Tony,  The Conversation,  2018.
Worried about mice in the kitchen? Fed up with pigeons on your way to work? Teed off by weeds on your lawn? Recent work points to a way that might just reduce – or even eliminate – unwanted species in a short period. The method is based on something called a gene drive – a ...
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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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How science could wipe out disease-carrying mosquitoes and save lives

Elliot, JK,  Global News,  2018.
Mosquitoes kill hundreds of thousands of people every year by spreading disease in tropical areas. They’re also the worst part of many cottage weekends and camping trips in North America.; ; But it doesn’t have to be that way.; ; Scientists are developing two methods for ...
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Gene drive technology considered in the fight to save native animals from feral cats

Smail, 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 put to work for first time.

Arnason, R,  The Western Producer,  2018.
A disruptive technology that potentially could eliminate or reduce the need for insecticides may soon be coming to market. In a paper published April 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of California, San Diego biologists announced they have ...
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Gene drive gets safety features limiting risk for a tool that could alter entire species

Collins, 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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Rats join mosquitoes as targets for ‘gene drive’ pest control.

Hirschler, B,  Reuters,  2017.
Rodents have joined mosquitoes in the cross-hairs of scientists working on a next-generation genetic technology known as “gene drive” to control pests.; Researchers in Scotland said on Tuesday they had developed two different ways to disrupt female fertility in rats and mice, ...
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‘Gene Drives’ Are Too Risky for Field Trials, Scientists Say

Zimmer, C,  New York Times,  2017.
In 2013, scientists discovered a new way to precisely edit genes — technology called Crispr that raised all sorts of enticing possibilities. Scientists wondered if it might be used to fix hereditary diseases, for example, or to develop new crops.; ; One of the more intriguing ...
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How Genetically Modified Mice Could One Day Save Island Birds

Borel, B,  Audubon,  2017.
The silent black-and-white footage opens on a seemingly tranquil setting: a burrow where an Atlantic Petrel tends to its chick. Then mice begin scurrying in and out of frame. The dark blurs jostle the adult, darting up to the exposed chick and tearing off bloody bites. They’re ...
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Illustrated experiment: modifying mosquitoes to save millions of lives

Volpicelli, G,  Wired,  2017.
Malaria, a disease transmitted by a type of mosquito called Anopheles, kills 500,000 people every year, most of them in Africa. But Andrea Crisanti, professor of molecular parasitology at London's Imperial College, has a plan to eradicate it in many countries.
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Gene Drives: A scientific case for a complete and perpetual ban

Latham, J,  GeneWatch,  2017.
One of the central issues of our day is how to safely manage the outputs of industrial innovation. Novel products incorporating nanotechnology, biotechnology, rare metals, microwaves, novel chemicals, and more, enter the market on a daily basis. Yet none of these products come ...
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Sterile Insect Techniques, GE mosquitoes and gene drives

Hanson, J,  GeneWatch,  2017.
One of the great temptations in any field is to promote your solution to a problem as the only solution. The recent application of gene drives to sterilize mosquitoes that transmit malaria or viruses like dengue and zika is an example of this tendency to first develop a ...
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Driving out malaria

Nolan, 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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Gene drive and collective oversight

Esvelt, K,  GeneWatch,  2017.
As one of the scientists who first described how CRISPR could create gene drive systems capable of altering wild; populations, I am morally responsible for the consequences. I'm writing to you in the hope that the people most; critical of the very idea can help. Bluntly, gene ...
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Gene drives: The good, the bad, and the hype

Ouagrham-Gormley, SBV, Kathleen M.,  The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,  2016.
Since the early 2000s, many advances in the life sciences, such as the artificial synthesis of the poliovirus and the gain-of-function experiments that enhanced the transmissibility of the H5N1 flu virus, have led to warnings that bioweapons development would soon be getting ...
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Extinctions to order: Gene-ocide.

The Economist,  The Economist,  2016.
IN A competition to find the world’s least-loved animal, the mosquito would be hard to beat. Only a few species of the insect carry the parasites that cause human diseases such as West Nile virus, dengue and yellow fever, but the harm they cause is enormous. Malaria kills more ...
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Biodiversity, GMOs, Gene Drives and the Militarised Mind

Shiva, V,  Inter Press Service,  2016.
A recent report from the National Academy of Science of The United States, titled Gene Drives on the Horizon : Advancing Science, Navigating Uncertainty, and Aligning Research with Public Values”, warns:; “One possible goal of release of a gene-drive modified organism is to ...
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Re-Coding for Conservation

Hawkes, A,  Bay Nature Magazine,  2016.
very year, as summer turns to fall, the mouse population on the South Farallon Islands explodes to plague-like densities, numbering 490 mice per acre, among the highest found on any island in the world. The scientists who live and work there describe the assault of the invasive ...
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When Extinction Is a Humanitarian Cause

Adelman, Z,  MIT Technology Review,  2016.
Humans have driven species to extinction through our hunger, our ignorance, our desire for economic growth, and our indifference. Will one species of mosquito be the first we eliminate for humanitarian ; The mosquito is Aedes aegypti. It is commonly known as the yellow fever ...
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Playing God with mosquitoes? We humans have loftier aims.

Pugh, J,  The Conversation,  2015.
In a startling development in “gene-drive” technology, a team of researchers at the University of California has succeeded in creating genetically modified mosquitoes incapable of spreading the malaria parasite to humans, and which could potentially spread this trait rapidly ...
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Big Agriculture eyeing genetic tool for pest control

PTI 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 technology

Goss, 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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