Les plantes du futur. Les organismes génétiquement modifiés

The Plants of the Future. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
Man has never ceased to manipulate nature, but with the discovery of DNA (1953), the birth of genetic engineering (1963) and its development, he acquired the unprecedented power of modifying living organisms.
Dominique Bodin-Rodier here outlines the scientific advances and the applications actual and potential of the genetic engineering of plants. She describes cloning and transgenetic techniques and reports on the development of transgenetic plants whose botanical properties are fundamentally modified and which subsequently allow for the production of rare therapeutic molecules.
The author emphasizes that this technological progress carries with it great hopes (agricultural production, food, health) but as well fears related to the uncertainty which exists over their effects. Finally she shows the considerable economic and financial stakes which are linked to these developments but also the ethical questions which they raise to which the United States would appear to be less sensitive than the Europeans.