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Gene drives and the EU

Ludwig Krämer

elni Review 2020, pp. 2-6. https://doi.org/10.46850/elni.2020.001

With the discovery of the CRISPR/Cas9 method in 2012, the global research on gene drives - the deliberate release of genetically modified animals and plants into the environment - increased spectacularly, as the new methods are seen in particular as means to extinct vector-transmitted diseases such as malaria or dengue fever, or support agricultural production. The contribution examines the legality of gene drive releases within the EU and describes the efforts to find some international consensus on gene drive releases. As genetically modified animals, such as mosquitoes, which are released elsewhere, might also reach and spread in Europe, the EU has an interest to actively participate in the international discussions and bring in its experience with GMO legislation. 

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References

  1. Megan Scudellari: Self-destructing mosquitoes and sterilized rodents. Nature 2019, no. 571 of 9 July 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02087-5.
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