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BBC Inside Science

UK Science post Brexit; GMOs vs Gene Editing regulation; Identical Twins That Aren't Indentical

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.51.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2021

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the new EU-UK deal, the UK is to be an associate member of the latest EU research funding round, known as Horizon Europe. Costing around £2bn to take part, what can UK scientists now do and what has changed? UKRI CEO Otteline Leyser and the Wellcome Trust EU specialist Beth Thompson discuss ways in which UK researchers are breathing a sigh of relief. Of all the ways the UK can now diverge from the EU, DEFRA is currently holding an open consultation on whether to tweak the current GMO regulations so as not to include CRISPR-style Genetic Editing. The EU is coincidentally looking at the same issue. John Innes Centre's Janneke Balk works on making strains of wheat that have a higher level of iron for nutritional fortification. Interim head of the Roslin Institute in Scotland Bruce Whitelaw thinks developing disease resistance in farm animals is a potentially profitable area. Both agree the GMO regulations should be more tightly specified to bring clarity and opportunity for innovation. In Iceland, Kari Stefansson's company Decode Genetics analyze the genetic codes of most of the population of Iceland. This has allowed them to look at the parents, siblings, and offspring of identical twins, and identify how early genetic differences between them develop. And it's very early indeed. Given that identical twins studies are so often used to address issues surrounding the so-called Nature-vs-Nurture debate, the findings, published in the Journal Nature, are striking. Presenter by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Alex Mansfield Made in association with the Open University.

Transcript

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0:18.0

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0:23.4

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0:28.3

Newscast, listen on BBC Sounds.

0:31.4

BBC Sounds. Sounds. BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.

0:37.0

This is the podcast of Inside Science first broadcast on the 14th of January 2021.

0:43.0

No COVID this week as we're tackling the other topic that's been looming over the news for ages, Brexit.

0:50.0

Four years of uncertainty is over.

0:53.0

The British government agreed a trade deal that will shape our future relationship with the European Union.

0:58.0

So what does that mean for science?

1:00.0

In part, it means a big sigh of relief because shortly we'll take on the new status of

1:06.0

associate member of club science which means we're still allowed to take part in

1:10.8

international collaborations but now we have to pay to play.

1:15.2

In science land, the most important aspect of the New Deal is that scientists now have access

1:20.2

to the Horizon Europe research program, a pot of money worth 85 billion euros.

1:26.0

Aside from the giant pot of money, our new associate member status affects where

1:31.2

researchers in all disciplines can live and work.

1:34.0

Joining me to discuss this are Professor Otteline Liza, Chief Executive of UK Research and

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