Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
Editing plant chromosomes using molecular scissors (phys.org)
34 points by dnetesn on May 28, 2020 | hide | past | favorite | 2 comments



> 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.


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.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: