Podcast: Here’s why scientists don’t call genetically modified plants ‘GMOs’

GMO Maize and Gene Editing x

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, and CRISPR – which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, are used to tweak an organism’s DNA. But do you know the difference between them?

Keith Edmisten is a cotton and industrial hemp specialist at North Carolina State University. He says GMO is basically an umbrella term.

“For most of the public, I think their idea of what a GMO is, is when you’re moving a gene from one species to another species that’s not sexually compatible. But, scientists don’t really use the term GMO because it’s not very specific,” he says. “We’ve genetically modified all the crops we grow. Even with traditional breeding, you’re genetically modifying crops.”

Read full, original article: GMO VS. CRISPR

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