Proposed new uses for genome editing include using gene editing, synthetic biology and gene drives as a way of reviving declining or even extinct species, improving soil and therefore plant health and biodiversity and re-engineering disease carrying insects. New uses, especially in the natural environment, open up new questions, which you will find explored here.
Published: 04-12-2025
We live in a century shaped by loss – of habitats, species and ecological certainty. The idea of reviving extinct creatures can be seductive. But resurrection isn’t just scientific: it is deeply moral, forcing us to ask what a virtuous relationship with nature – based on respect, care and humility – should look like in an age of extinction.
Our resources sections bring together a range of interesting articles, reports and papers across several different themes. Follow the link to get started.
Recommendations change often so visit regularly.
Published: 07-10-2025
As the IUCN World Conservation Congress opens in Abu Dhabi, members face a pivotal choice between embracing genetic engineering as a conservation tool or pausing to apply the precautionary principle to these rapidly advancing technologies.
Published: 01-05-2025
As the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) begins its formal deliberations on synthetic biology applications, we find ourselves in a critical window where governance frameworks around the use […]
Published: 18-02-2025
As the UK pushes ahead with plans to deregulate both environmental and commercial releases of gene-edited crops and foods – and, soon, farm animals – this thoughtful long-read considers whether we are building a bright new future or just a more sophisticated form of man-made pollution.
Published: 31-10-2024
Engineered rats, facial recognition for wildlife, ‘disestablishment’ of crucial horizon-scanning and disregard for international treaties. As COP16 wraps up in Cali, Colombia, here’s a trick-or-treat guide to what, sort of, just happened.
Published: 11-12-2022
The UK’s Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, allows gene editing of wild and free-living species. Shouldn’t we be talking about that?
Published: 04-11-2019
A new briefing from the Third World Network Biosafety Information Service spotlights the emerging use of new genetic engineering techniques such as genome editing and new delivery techniques as a […]
Published: 03-10-2019
The applications of CRISPR based genetic engineering tools range from changing colors in butterfly wings to developing gene therapies that might one day cure or prevent human diseases. Some scientists […]
Published: 16-05-2019
Synthetic biology – altering or redesigning genes to meet human objectives – is a fast-developing field. So far mostly applied in agriculture and medicine, synthetic biology could have substantial knock-on […]
