Ronald Bailey on Using Gene Drive Technology to Manage Wild Ecosystems
Wouldn't it be great if scientists could genetically engineer mosquitoes to be immune to the malaria parasite, thus protecting people from that disease? How about restoring the effectiveness of a pesticide by eliminating resistance genes in weeds and insect pests? Or altering genomes to eradicate a pesky invasive species? These are exactly the sorts of things that a brand new biotechnological tool could do, and it's got some people worried. Reason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey looks into how "gene drives" can be used safely to manage wild ecosystems.