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“Advances in gene editing have made the process of changing an organism’s genome more efficient, opening up a range of potential applications, including pest control. At the request of Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency, the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) has formed an expert panel to examine the scientific, bioethical, and regulatory challenges associated with the use of gene-edited organisms and technologies for pest control.”

SCi Co-director Natalie Kofler has been appointed to the Canadian Council of Academies Expert Panel on Gene-edited Organisms for Pest Control.

 

Learn more about the council on the CCA website.

A technician from Oxitec inspects the pupae of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Campinas, Brazil.
Photo thanks to Andre Penner.

Through new genetic modification technologies, scientists have been able to reshape nature with an increasing amount of power. Most are familiar with work on modified crops that make farming easier and earn larger profits for corporate developers, but new work has developed promising a “friendly” mosquito.

SCi Co-director Natalie Kofler talks to the LA Times about the need for transparency about why experiments are being done on mosquitos and the ethical impact of the actions.

Read the post, “In California, an army of genetically engineered mosquitoes awaits release. Will it backfire?” by Melody Petersen to learn more.