Gene Drive Technology: The Thing to Fear is Fear Itself

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dc.contributor.authorEsvelt, Kevin
dc.date.accessioned2018-11-29T14:41:11Z
dc.date.available2018-11-29T14:41:11Z
dc.date.issued2018-12
dc.description.abstractCRISPR gene drive systems have raised concerns due to their ability to spread through wild populations over generations, but the technology is slow, easily detected by sequencing, and readily countered by overwriting unwanted changes. Populations of humans and other organisms with long generation times cannot be directly affected, agriculture is highly resistant thanks to seed farms and selective breeding programs, and population suppression drives that might affect wild ecosystems are the most trivial to counter. The primary hazard of gene drive technology is not physical, but social: that unethical closed-door research, overhyped fears, or an unauthorized release into a wild population will damage public trust in science and governance. Sunlight, in the form of new incentives favoring pre-registration of all proposed gene drive research, is the best way to dispel the clouds of fear and uncertainty. Ensuring that research is conducted in the open could lead to external scrutiny of research plans in other fields, potentially enabling nascent technological hazards to be identified early enough to intervene.
dc.description.sponsorshipSmith Richardson Foundation
dc.identifier10.13021/mqcp-zf75
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1920/11337
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherGeorge Mason University
dc.relation.ispartofseriesEditing Biosecurity Issue Brief;4
dc.subjectCRISPR
dc.subjectGene Drive Technology
dc.titleGene Drive Technology: The Thing to Fear is Fear Itself
dc.typeTechnical Report

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