Editing them out: The end for pests?
Panel discussion on the risks and benefits if gene editing technologies are used for pest control.
What will the risks and benefits be if gene editing technologies are engaged as a dominant means for pest control. For example, are there greater ramifications in developing gene drives to control and eradicate pests such as introduced wasps or invasive exotic weeds?
Editing them out: The end for pests?
Kim Hill (MC), Josephine Johnston, Andrea Byrom, Kevin Hackwell, Jan Hania
Recorded in Wellington on 28 September 2017
Listen online at RNZ: Editing our Genes: Pest Control
Panel
Dr Andrea Byrom
Director, NZ's Biological Heritage National Science Challenge
Kevin Hackwell
Group Manager Campaigns and Advocacy, Forest and Bird
Jan Hania
Environment director, Next Foundation
Josephine Johnston
Director of Research and Research scholar, The Hastings Center
Kim Hill
Host and Broadcaster, RNZ National
Presented in partnership with the David and Genevieve Becroft Foundation, The University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington and RNZ National.
Views expressed at this event may not reflect those of Royal Society Te Apārangi.
About the series
Prestigious Speakers
Editing Our Genes: Promises and Pitfalls
Once a science fiction fantasy, the power to engineer DNA is now within reach. With that power comes complex and sometimes contentious questions about what can, and what should, be done to change ourselves and the world around us. Using a new genome editing technique, known as CRISPR/Cas9, scientists are exploring deletion, alteration, and addition of genes to a huge variety of organisms, from yeast to kumara, and from mosquitoes to dairy cattle. Perhaps most promising, but also most controversial, are the possible uses of the technology in humans.
Host Kim Hill is joined by bioethicist Josephine Johnston and a panel of experts to explore the implications of gene editing technologies for New Zealand.