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There's a new genetic technology that promises to revolutionize agriculture and transform our influence over the natural world. But should we be worried about this unprecedented

power over animals and plants? I'm Professor Matthew Cobb of the University of Manchester,

and this is Discovery from the BBC World Service.

A scientist in the world service. A scientist in London is the joystick

a scientist in London is modifying the embryo of a mosquito to see if it's possible to

eradicate malaria in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The same technique is being used to alter the genetic makeup of farm animals.

This is the gene editing technology CRISPR.

These animals in front of us are involved in a study looking at trying to

engineer resilience to a virus called African swine fever virus.

CRISPR, CRISPR-CAS 9. It's very quick, it's very reliable, it's very precise. This is an utter revolution.

Creating farm animals immune to killer infections might seem like a great idea. But what about using CRISPR to wipe out whole species like disease-carrying

insects?

I'm alarmed that the debate has jumped way ahead to species elimination when there's so much that needs to be thought about and

considered before reaching that point.

The gene editing CRISPR into the freshly laid fertilised eggs of the mosquito.

Four years ago,

researchers from the United States and Europe discovered a remarkable new tool for genetic

engineering. It goes under the name of CRISPR. It's quite different from the original technique

of genetic modification, which was invented in the 1970s.

...