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No other biotechnology has caused as much furore as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Since scientists invented the first technologies to develop GMOs they have been hotly debated in societies around the globe. Much has changed since the early days of GMOs and we believe it’s time to re-evaluate the benefits and risks they pose!
Extinction on demand: should we use gene drives to wipe out malaria forever?
Dr Philip Leftwich
(Lecturer in Biological Sciences at University of East Anglia)
Phil has worked for over ten years in the field of genetics and insect pest management, developing new technologies to control pest populations, especially mosquitoes. In this talk he will discuss how these emerging technologies give humans the capacity to alter the genes of whole species, creating desirable characteristics or eliminating problematic ones. These advances create exciting opportunities – we have the potential to eliminate the mosquitoes carrying malaria forever – but also raise serious questions and complex challenges in risk management, politics and ethics!
A Moral Meal with GM Crops
Anna Backhaus
(PhD Researcher at John Innes Centre)
The agriculture sector is a big threat to our biodiversity and ecosystem. However, large and small scale farmers will also be severely affected by climate change! So, to safeguard our food production systems in the future without destroying our planet we will need smart solutions. And one of our most powerful tools for this are genetically modified (GM) crops. In this talk, Anna Backhaus - a PhD researcher at the John Innes Centre - will explore why fearing all GM crops is at best irrational and at worst harmful, especially for the estimated 510 million smallhold farmers around the globe.
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