
Editing plant chromosomes using molecular scissors - dnetesn
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-chromosomes-molecular-scissors.html
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fennecfoxen
> Crops produced by genome editing do not contain any DNA, which is why they
> are not to be equated with classical genetically modified organisms.

... Sure they don't, science journalist.

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bawana
Gene editing worries me. A genetic makeup is tuned to an equilibrium in the
environment. Just because we can change an organism to better suit human
needs, we cannot predict how that mutation will affect the equilibrium. Though
genetics says unfit mutations will fail, the directed change of specific
metabolic pathways is not like this. The organism is moved from one
equilibrium state to another. Rather than the changed organism failing, it may
survive and cause failure of other organisms connected to it. Genetic
rearrangement is a spontaneous process related to mitosis, meiosis as well as
dna repair and gene expression. A specific hazard for example is the
accidental reactivation of proviruses or oncogenes or other more subtle
change. The equilibrium state of the genetically modified plant and the
environment might actually be worse than the present environment and the
unmodified plant.

