Confused about what gene drives are and how they came about?
Read this great piece in the American Scientist by Fred Gould! Tracing the history of gene drives discovery and study, it offers a great backgrounder and explanation to the current thinking on the use of genetic technologies for controlling mosquito-borne diseases. As the article notes “You can hear both optimism and frustration at meetings where entomologists get together to talk over genetic control strategies. Scientists in this field have made great progress in the past 10 years, but major technical and social hurdles remain. In the end there will be poetic justice if biologists are able to use selfish DNA to serve the altruistic goal of improving world health.”
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