What Victor Frankenstein Got Wrong

With CRISPR-based gene drive, however, anyone with the right training could conceivably alter whole ecosystems unless their creation is actively countered and overwritten. In the worst-case scenario, an unopposed "global" gene drive system could spread through every population of the target species in the world, potentially affecting countless people without their consent. While most genetic changes would have no ecological effects whatsoever, we can't know for sure without testing them in small areas (i.e., without a global gene drive), and individuals acting on their own won't have run such tests. Imagine if someone in, say, New Zealand--even a would-be do-gooder--released a "global" gene drive designed to suppress or remove an invasive rat population by spreading infertility. Even if it worked well, possibly saving many endangered species, the construct wouldn't stay in that area.