Sebastian Soyk, 38, is a molecular biologist. He conducts research at the University of Lausanne.
He is researching a better tomato. (…)
His tomatoes were made in the laboratory, Soyk removed the bump using genetic engineering. It was a small, fine intervention: it switched off a single gene. According to Swiss law, this tomato is a GMO, a genetically modified organism. Politicians are faced with the question: should it stay that way?
Yes, says the Federal Council.
This has upset many scientists. The dispute is about small cuts in the genome and an old law, the genetic engineering law. It was passed almost 20 years ago. Since then, research has discovered new, much more precise methods. They are summarized under the term «genome editing».
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