My bad re article.<p>Using a virus as a vector?
The highly mutable nature of a virus. It&#x27;s been engineered to perform a specific function, and within some limits of mutation it will still perform that function. There&#x27;s a wide range of further mutations that will perform no noticeable function, and then there&#x27;s a small space where it might do something that no-one expected. I mean, let&#x27;s not get all doomsday about this - viruses are mutating and changing and leaping species all the time. We never know what nature will do for itself and how those effects will percolate through ecosystems.<p>My strongly held view is that we should be not be engineering with vectors. I do and have for a long time believed that species engineering (such as with this proposed system, although I was unaware of it until just now) is the way forward.<p>When I was completing my Biochem major I used to dream about ways to engineer our pestilent species out of existence, rabbits, cane toads and carp. Although in 2009 CRISPR wasn&#x27;t even published and most of my thoughts revolved around chromosome engineering and X inactivation schemes to wipe the males of the species out. Not surprisingly, I wasn&#x27;t the first to think of it and there was some great research out on those subjects