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2025-05-03 00:00:00.0 欧洲新闻电视台-欧洲新闻原网页

Few topics are as divisive and controversial as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The same level of contention also characterises new genomic techniques (NGTS), often referred to as the new generation of GMOs.

As explored in the last episode of Euronews Tech Talks, NGTs are cutting-edge technologies used to alter the genetic material of plants by editing their DNA.

Currently, in the European Union, crops developed using NGTs are regulated under the same framework as GMOs. However, this situation might soon change.

What are GMOs and why do they remain so controversial? | Euronews Tech Talks

In 2023, the European Commission adopted a proposal to ease restrictions over gene editing techniques, making producing and commercialising NGT-derived crops simpler.

This proposal is still under discussion and has the support of several scientists.

However, the deregulation of NGTs also raised concerns among other experts and non-governmental organisations like Friends of the Earth Europe.

To better understand the reasons for and against the deregulation of NGTs, Euronews Tech Talks spoke with two experts from different sides of the debate: Michael Antoniou, Professor of molecular genetics and toxicology at King’s College London; and Nathalie Verbruggen, Professor of plant physiology and molecular genetics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Is the proposed distinction between two types of new genomic techniques scientifically justified?

Under the new EU proposal, NGTS would be split into two categories: NGT 1 and NGT 2. Crops classified as NGT 2 would remain subject to the GMO regulation, while those labelled as NGT 1 would be exempt from strict risk assessment and labelling requirements.

This distinction would depend on the number of genetic modifications introduced into an organism, a criterion that, according to both professors, is inconsistent.

"This distinction is considered completely artificial, which is true because nature does not draw neat lines," Verbruggen explained. "NGT 1 makes no sense to me at all because when you look at the criteria, it’s a free-for-all," Antoniou said.

Although the two experts agree that the division between NGT 1 and NGT 2 lacks scientific grounding, their reactions diverge.

NGTs: Inside the first European gene-edited wheat field trial | Euronews Tech Talks

Verbruggen would like to have more plants under the category NGT 1, to have greater deregulation.

"We (scientists) don’t see it as a risk, but as a missed opportunity," she said.

Conversely, Antoniou is concerned about the high number of NGT crops that would already be in the category NGT 1.

"There is no way you can bring about 20 large-scale changes in the DNA of the organism and that this could occur naturally," he explained.

Could the deregulation of NGTS solve climate change and make our food system more secure?

Antoniou and Verbruggen also have different perspectives on the impact of the EU proposal on climate change and the entire food system.

Verbruggen embraces a balanced but optimistic position.

"Like most technologies, the impact is not inherently good or bad; it will depend on the use [of the NGTs]," she said.

Like most technologies, the impact is not inherently good or bad, it will depend on the use [of the NGTs]. Nathalie Verbruggen

Professor

However, the Brussels-based expert sees a strong potential in this tool.

"If the uses are guided by sustainability goals, NGTs can become powerful tools to support agriculture and biodiversity," she told Euronews.

According to Verbruggen, the strength of these new techniques lies in their ability to make precise genetic modifications, accelerating processes similar to natural breeding.

"We talk about reducing fertilisers by making crops less dependent on nitrogen or phosphorus and making them more resilient to diseases and pests," she stated.

Conversely, Antoniou is sceptical about the promises of NGTs.

What are NGTs and why are they sparking so much controversy in the EU?

"The types of characteristics that we would like our plants or animals to have in the face of climate change... are what are known as genetically complex traits," the professor explained.

"It's not like one gene or two genes give you robust drought tolerance or saline tolerance or heat stress tolerance," he said.

According to Antoniou, the problem does not lie within the crops, but with the agricultural system itself.

"What we need are climate-ready systems of agriculture, not climate-ready crops or animals,” he told Euronews.

Antoniou stressed that gene-editing tools can be less precise than believed, potentially leading to unpredictable effects on the environment.

Governments agree to ease regulation of new-generation GMOs

Why could patenting be a problem?

One problem that Antoniou and Verbruggen are on the same page about is patenting.

Under the new regulation, NGT-made crops would be subject to patenting, something both experts believe could have a detrimental effect on the balance of power in the EU economic system.

"Farmers are going to suffer more because they will pay more for their seeds, they will be restricted on how they use and how they grow them," Antoniou explained.

"This [the patenting of NGTs] can favour large biotech companies. And I think one of the spirits of this new regulation is to enlarge the access to new partners, smaller industries, public industries, and universities, so this could jeopardise this opening," Verbruggen said.

A Soviet-era spacecraft meant to land on Venus in the 1970s is expected to plunge uncontrolled back to Earth, possibly within the first two weeks of May.

It's too early to know where the half-tonne mass of metal might come down or how much of it will survive re-entry, according to space debris tracking experts.

Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek predicts the failed spacecraft will re-enter around 10 May. He estimates it will come crashing at around 242 kph, assuming it remains intact.

"While not without risk, we should not be too worried," Langbroek said.

'Venus is a Russian planet': Russian space agency announces national effort to explore Earth's twin

The object is relatively small and, even if it doesn't break apart, "the risk is similar to that of a random meteorite fall, several of which happen each year. You run a bigger risk of getting hit by lightning in your lifetime," he said.

The chance of the spacecraft actually hitting someone or something is small, he added, but "it cannot be completely excluded."

Venus travels across the surface of the sun as seen through a telescope in Yellowknife, 5 June, 2012 AP Photo

What were the Soviet missions to Venus?

The Soviet Union launched the spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 in 1972, one of a series of Venus missions.

But it never made it out of Earth orbit because of a rocket malfunction.

Most of it came tumbling back to Earth within a decade. But Langbroek and others believe the landing capsule itself — a spherical object about one metre in diameter — has been circling the world in a highly elliptical orbit for the past 53 years, gradually dropping in altitude.

NASA plans two visits to Earth’s nearest neighbour Venus

It's possible that the nearly 500-kilogram spacecraft will survive re-entry.

It was built to withstand a descent through the carbon dioxide-thick atmosphere of Venus, said Langbroek of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Experts doubt the parachute system would work after so many years. The heat shield may also be compromised after so long in orbit.

A replica of the descent capsule of the Soviet Venera-9 depicting the first soft landing on planet Venus, 22 October, 1975 AP Photo

Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics said it would be better if the heat shield failed, which would cause the spacecraft to burn up during its dive through the atmosphere.

But if the shield holds, "it'll re-enter intact and you have a half-tonne metal object falling from the sky".

The spacecraft could re-enter anywhere between 51.7 degrees north and south latitude, or as far north as London and Edmonton in Canada's Alberta, almost all the way down to South America's Cape Horn.

But since most of the planet is water, "chances are good it will indeed end up in some ocean," Langbroek said.

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