IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nas/journl/v116y2019p7692-7697.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Promises and perils of gene drives: Navigating the communication of complex, post-normal science

Author

Listed:
  • Dominique Brossard

    (Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706; Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI 53715)

  • Pam Belluck

    (The New York Times, New York, NY 10018)

  • Fred Gould

    (Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695; Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695)

  • Christopher D. Wirz

    (Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706)

Abstract

In November of 2017, an interdisciplinary panel discussed the complexities of gene drive applications as part of the third Sackler Colloquium on “The Science of Science Communication.” The panel brought together a social scientist, life scientist, and journalist to discuss the issue from each of their unique perspectives. This paper builds on the ideas and conversations from the session to provide a more nuanced discussion about the context surrounding responsible communication and decision-making for cases of post-normal science. Deciding to use gene drives to control and suppress pests will involve more than a technical assessment of the risks involved, and responsible decision-making regarding their use will require concerted efforts from multiple actors. We provide a review of gene drives and their potential applications, as well as the role of journalists in communicating the extent of uncertainties around specific projects. We also discuss the roles of public opinion and online environments in public engagement with scientific processes. We conclude with specific recommendations about how to address current challenges and foster more effective communication and decision-making for complex, post-normal issues, such as gene drives.

Suggested Citation

  • Dominique Brossard & Pam Belluck & Fred Gould & Christopher D. Wirz, 2019. "Promises and perils of gene drives: Navigating the communication of complex, post-normal science," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(16), pages 7692-7697, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nas:journl:v:116:y:2019:p:7692-7697
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.pnas.org/content/116/16/7692.full
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. J. Robert Mitchell & Ronald K. Mitchell & Richard A. Hunt & David M. Townsend & Jae H. Lee, 2022. "Stakeholder Engagement, Knowledge Problems and Ethical Challenges," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 75-94, January.
    2. Cisnetto, Valentina & Barlow, James, 2020. "The development of complex and controversial innovations. Genetically modified mosquitoes for malaria eradication," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nas:journl:v:116:y:2019:p:7692-7697. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Eric Cain (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.pnas.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.