Technology

Quick question: For those of you who work in a recombinant DNA lab, what is the most hazardous chemical that you use on a daily basis? To put it another way, what chemical do you ALWAYS wear gloves to handle? Probably the same one that I do, but risk perception and reality aren’t always the same thing.

When it comes to genetic control of mosquitoes, risks are a hot topic, so it’s useful to consider the answer to this question.

Can we be confident that if we get the facts out that genetic control of mosquitoes will be accepted for testing to prevent diseases? In the face of anti-GM activists, scientists have their hands tied by an intractable force – a professional demand to simply present the facts. Should scientists become more persuasive by becoming activists?