Anything can happen between now and the final version of the new Precision Breeding Bill. But government seems to have taken to heart the suggestion from last year’s Regulatory Horizons Council report to apply “creative use of guidelines, standards [and] policies” to see if it’s possible to get it right (or get away with it).
Deregulating GMOs in the UK – New Report ‘Fills in the Blanks’ in Defra’s Plans
A new analysis by A Bigger Conversation suggests that, in its haste to deregulate agricultural gene technologies, the UK government is “choosing to get it wrong” by ignoring expertise from all sides.
Policy podcast
Science, Policy & Genetic Technologies: Gene Editing, Nature, and Biological Risks
Why should conservationists be interested in the technological ability to change the genome of wild, free-moving species? What governance mechanisms are guiding discussions around the use of these technologies in conservation?
This thoughtful podcast is the third episode of a 4-part mini-series on genetic technologies, originated by Cambridge University's Centre for Science and Policy.
Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by University of Cambridge geographer and Emeritus Moran Professor of Conservation Professor Bill Adams, and Dr Catherine Rhodes, the Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and a Senior Research Associate, Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine's College, Cambridge.
In this episode, they discuss gene drives, the implications of genetic technologies for conservation, biological conventions and biological risks.