Recap of SBSTTA 26 – what happened to gene drives?

At the 26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 26) to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) Gene Drives received significant attention in the context of the CBD’s horizon scanning of new challenges arising from synthetic biology as well as the Biosafety Protocol’s guidelines for risk assessment and risk management. Stop Gene Drives…

World Wildlife Day

World Wildlife Day: Dreams & nightmares of genetically engineering wildlife. Why conservation organisations across the world need to speak up! Most people in the EU – including civil society organisations - are opposed to genetically manipulating food crops but unaware that the scope of genetic engineering projects has shifted radically in the past decade. With the advent of…

IUCN: Die Diskussion um Gene Drives

Die Diskussion um Gene Drives in der Weltnaturschutzunion (IUCN) Angesichts der Möglichkeit, eingeschleppte invasive Arten mittels Gene Drive aus empfindlichen Ökosystemen zu entfernen, diskutiert auch die International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), auch Weltnaturschutzunion genannt, seit Ende 2015 über den Umgang mit dieser Technologie. Bei ihrer Mitgliederversammlung im…

Biodiversity convention fails in regulating new genetic engineering

At the conference of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity on November 29, 2018, 196 nations unfortunately only agreed to the lowest conceivable common denominator with regard to the research and release of so-called gene drive organisms. Instead of clear precautions and global control, the joint declaration contains only broadly interpretable, general appeals to governments. "This means…

Gene Drive Symposium in Bern – Wiping out unwanted species with CRISPR-Cas?

Gene Drive Symposium in Bern - Wiping out unwanted species with CRISPR-Cas? An interdisciplinary gene drive symposium was held in Bern on May 24, 2019. A report was published highlighting scientific, ecological, social, ethical and regulatory issues related to the gene drive technology. What is a gene drive? CRISPR-Cas makes it possible: Gene drives are a genetic engineering…

Call for a global moratorium on gene drives

Gene drives could change the world. If what is currently being developed and tested in various genetic engineering laboratories around the world actually works, this technology could be used to create organisms that are genetically manipulated in such a way that they can change their entire species, or even eradicate it. Together with 200 initial signatories, Save Our Seeds is calling for a…

World Malaria Day 2023 and the gene drives deception

World Malaria Day 2023 and the gene drives deception At the occasion of World Malaria Day (25 April), the Stop Gene Drives Campaign encourages you to take a closer look at the insights and perspectives shared by prominent actors and other organisations closely monitoring the subject on this significant day. By 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) hopes to reduce the global malaria…