GMO Safety Factor Prevents Fruitful Interbreeding in the Wild

Biotechnologists have engineered a genetic barrier to sexual reproduction between otherwise compatible populations. The barrier is called synthetic incompatibility. It depends on programmable transcription factors and works something like a kill switch, one slipped into the genetic code of a sexually reproducing organism. When the organism produces hybrid offspring, this kill switch may activate genes that cause the offspring to die.This synthetic incompatibility has been developed by scientists