Tree vaccines and gene-edited butterflies among biotechnology projects funded by UK ‘invention agency’
The UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) has awarded £54m to biotechnology projects aimed at helping British wildlife adapt to climate change. Initiatives include gene-editing butterflies and developing vaccines for trees to combat environmental threats.
Why it matters
This represents a high-risk, high-reward approach to conservation, utilizing cutting-edge biotechnology to address the rapid pace of the climate crisis.
The swallowtail butterfly will be gene-edited by researchers at the University of Exeter. Photograph: Allan Drewitt/Natural England/PA The swallowtail butterfly will be gene-edited by researchers at the University of Exeter. Photograph: Allan Drewitt/Natural England/PA Conservation Tree vaccines and gene-edited butterflies among biotechnology projects funded by UK ‘invention agency’ Exclusive: The tax-funded research aims to protect British wildlife from the human-caused climate crisis
Prefer the Guardian on Google Vaccines for ash trees, skin treatments for newts and gene-edited swallowtail butterflies are among 14 tax-funded projects from the UK’s “ invention agency ” aiming to accelerate nature’s ability to adapt to the climate crisis.
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