ABOVE: Aphids feed on a corn plant.
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An ongoing basic research program from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency called Insect Allies faces criticism in an op-ed published today (October 4) in Science. The commentary’s authors express concerns about the development and possible dispersal of insect vectors to deliver genetically modified viruses to crops. Namely, they say the technology could be seized for the development of biological weapons.
“Although we are not ourselves accusing DARPA of weaponizing the program, our main concern with this is that it could give the appearance of weaponization to other countries who may themselves want to establish their own programs like this,” coauthor Derek Caetano-Anollés, a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, tells The Scientist.
Insect Allies participants and supporters contend that the research has appropriate precautions in place and that it could lead to solutions to the growing ...
