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0 pointsRetric5y ago0 comments

Different approach, that attempt was to reduce population sizes not cause extinction. Though it is evidence that Gene Drive is less likely to work than many expect.

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someguyorother5y ago

Nature thwarts gene drives by modifying their targets, so it's important that whatever is being targeted can't easily change. Surviving instead of being killed off is certainly an evolutionary advantage, after all :-)

There's been some research on finding targets that can't be mutated. Here's one example: https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4245

josephcsible5y ago

While that may be true for general use of the gene drive, doesn't this particular use significantly increase the fitness of the individual organisms (despite being harmful to the species as a whole), resulting in essentially no evolutionary pressure against it?

marcosdumay5y ago

Evolution happens on all levels at the same time. So, while this is the most likely result, it's not impossible that things go in other ways.

Anyway, it's also very unlikely that those actions result in anything worse than resistance against those same actions in the future.

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