Sweden’s biologist has created the world’s first gene-edited meal using plants modified with ‘genetic scissors’ called CRISPR-Cas9.
Stefan Jansson a biologist at Umea University in Sweden, grew cabbage in his own garden and used CRISPR-Cas9 to modify it. Cas9 acts as a pair of ‘molecular scissors’ that can cut the two strands of DNA at a specific location in the genome so that bits of DNA can then be added or removed.
Using CRISPR, scientists can remove genetic mutations that cause diseases like retinal degeneration or even HIV.
Jansson gene-edited cabbage can’t be considered a genetically modified organism by the Swedish authorities because it doesn’t have any foreign DNA inside it — that’s the GMO definition that applies in the EU.
According to the scientists the meal marks the first step towards a future where science can better provide consumers around the world with healthy and hardy plants.
Source: Daily mail, ZME Science
