The case to the ECJ was brought by French NGOs and trade unions, the usual suspects in holding back the tide of human progress.
The new editing technology, known by the unwieldy sounding name of CRISPR-Cas9, has been described as a technique of precisely targeting the gene that is indistinguishable from natural mutation.
If gene editing comes under Europe’s restrictive GMO laws it could limit research to all but those applications which involved the removal of the gene only and no replacement by new ones. Examples of such a limited technique were demonstrated at a lunch scientists held for journalists near Umeå last year, when reporters were treated to the first vegetables ever grown outdoors after modification by the new technology. The slightly blue-tinged broccoli tasted delicious with pasta and garlic, no genes having been added, but at least it fell under the radar of the European Union’s current interpretation of GM legislation.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: View from Brussels: European court mulls restrictions on gene editing
