[ExI] CRISPR and Gene Drives

[Anders Sandberg]

On 2015-11-20 10:06, Ben wrote:
> BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> "The engineered organisms could upset the delicate balance of an 
> ecosystem"
The balance of ecosystems is one of the myths that need to die.

We have known since May's paper in *1973* ( 
http://www.d.umn.edu/~thrabik/may%201973.pdf ) that generic big 
ecosystems are unstable. In the ensuing debate the findings have been 
that real ecosystems are more stable than mathematical ones for complex 
reasons ( 
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v405/n6783/full/405228a0.html ), 
but in the end this rather leads to the view that ecosystems are 
*robust*. They can handle noise and disruptions most of the time, but 
they also can shift and adapt. But they are *not* delicately balanced.


The recent gene drive safeguard paper was nice; just the kind of thing 
we may want to add as a debug or safety tool.

-- 
Dr Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Oxford University