Bernd Giese recently published an article titled “The viral era” in EMBO reports under the category ‘Science & Society’. In it, Dr. Giese impressively discusses the developments of modern technologies away from direct human influence towards increasingly autonomous systems. The article illustrates several bio-control techniques, from sterile insect technique (SIT), to gene drives, to viral applications such as Horizontal Environmental Genetic Alteration Agents (HEGAA). The article concludes with a call for adequate safeguards and asking whether our understanding of nature is sufficient for comprehensive management of ecological and socio-ecological systems.

The article is freely available under open access policy, here.

The German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management published two reports on the issue of new nuclear technologies and their potential impact on nuclear waste management. One report deals with the option of partitioning and transmutation (P&T) and was co-authored by ISR scientists Friederike Frieß, Nikolaus Arnold, Wolfgang Liebert and Nikolaus Müllner.

The results of the report were discussed in an article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung and at an event hosted by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

Sorry, this entry is only available in German.