The archive – page 2
Every post on the blog, newest first. Use the date and category menus in the sidebar to narrow it down.
Gene drives: the case for caution and the case for trying
How CRISPR gene drives work, where the malaria mosquito work has got to, and why the argument about releasing one is harder than either side admits.
From Durban to Baku: the long life of 'climate apartheid'
Critics called the 2011 Durban climate deal 'climate apartheid'. The deal led to Paris, the phrase reached the UN. Who carries the risk in 2025?
The FAO, biotech and who gets to speak for farmers
In 2010 the FAO held a biotech conference in Guadalajara as Mexico opened fields to GM maize trials. How the agency has shifted since, and what hasn't.
Digital sequence information and the Cali Fund: paying for genes that live in databases
Genetic data in open databases slipped past the Nagoya Protocol. COP16 answered with the Cali Fund. What companies are asked to pay, and what to watch.
From Hong Kong to Tianjin: synthetic biology's turn to Asia
In 2008 synthetic biology held its first big congress in Asia. Since then China and its neighbors have made the field a pillar of industrial policy.
Solar geoengineering without the hype: questions and answers
Stratospheric aerosols and cloud brightening explained, why 2024's experiments were halted, and the fight over who gets to decide.
The true colors of the green economy: from Rio+20 to rainforest credits
In 2011 critics warned the 'green economy' meant putting a price on nature. What followed: natural capital, offsets, nature credits, and who gets paid.
The cool, the concerned and everyone else: public voice in synthetic biology
Early synthetic biology split into enthusiasts and critics. Most people were in neither camp. What two decades of asking the public has taught.
When Europe revoked a patent on every GM soybean: questions and answers
In 2007 the EPO revoked a patent covering all GM soybeans. Why it fell, and how Europe's plant-patent fights led to the deadlock over gene-edited crops.
Biofuels and transgenics: the tortilla, the tank and who pays
Mexico's 2007 tortilla crisis was an early warning. How the biofuel push collided with food prices, how crops were bent toward fuel, and who pays.
Nanomaterials in food and packaging: what's there, what's regulated, what nobody knows
From the E171 ban to nanosilver containers: where engineered nanoparticles meet food, how rules differ by country, and which questions remain open.
Climate technology transfer: for Northern business or Southern countries?
At Copenhagen, technology transfer was the 'easy' climate issue. Fifteen years on, the patent fight is parked and the map of who makes what has flipped.
