Henrik Aalto
Henrik writes about genetic engineering, gene editing and synthetic biology – the science, the patents and the gap between a press release and a product. He reads the supplementary data so you do not have to.
Posts by Henrik
Cultivated meat: a reality check
Six years after the first approval, cultivated meat is legal in a few places, banned in others and sold almost nowhere. The biology explains most of why.
Mapping the 'Mexican genome': the questions a 2009 launch skipped
In 2009 Mexico unveiled a 'map of the Mexican genome'. What the study found, what genomic sovereignty covered, and who has benefited since.
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.
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.
Rice, milk proteins and sick children in Lima: the Ventria trial revisited
In 2006 a US firm tested human milk proteins made in GM rice on children with diarrhoea in Peru. The trial, the ethics fight, and what came after.
Synthia and the shotgun: what became of the synthetic cell
In 2007 Craig Venter's team sought patents on a minimal synthetic organism. What got built since, what got patented, and what 'synthetic life' means now.
Gene-edited plants and the EU: what Parliament voted for, and what happens next
The European Parliament backed a two-tier regime for gene-edited plants, with a patent ban attached. What the categories mean and what still has to happen.
