
Gene drive gives scientists power to hijack evolution - dtawfik1
http://www.statnews.com/2015/11/17/gene-drive-hijack-evolution/
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nonbel
After reading the paper[1], AFAICT the phenotype results can also be explained
by selecting for pre-existing mutants (the cells of the embryo containing the
targeted sequence are killed off) followed by transvection[2]. They assume a
simple dominant-recessive relationship between alleles of the yellow gene and
pigmentation, which is not true[3]. Also, the primers they used for PCR shown
in Fig 2D don't look like they span the genome-insertion junction...

[1]
[http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6233/442](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6233/442)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transvection_%28genetics%29](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transvection_%28genetics%29)

[3]
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2766311/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2766311/)

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nonbel
Also, their description and figure 1 says a cas9/etc sequence should be
inserted at the target site, but the sequences in Fig S1 don't seem to show
this. I don't get that.

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pontifier
This is perhaps the most disturbing use of genetic engineering I have heard
about. I was just talking to someone last night about the Fermi Paradox, and
the idea that the great filter was ahead of us. This is strangely appropriate.

