“The scientists used a so-called homing-endonuclease gene (HEG), a selfish gene found in fungi, plants, and bacteria that has the ability to create a second copy of itself in individuals that have only one. This ensures that all offspring have the gene as well, and it’s one of the fastest ways genes can spread in nature, says insect geneticist Jason Rasgon of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, who was not involved in the new study.”
Why does the idea of releasing a genetically modified animal into the wild as a way to control a wild-type population make me uneasy. Uh, GM release? Uh, controlling organism by introducing one that isn’t native?
Shiver. How many generations will it take before we are comfortable with that?
