Question

evolution. gene drives could also be dangerous and unpredictable; once a manmade dna sequence gets into a wild population, its hard to get back out again. the national academys report lays out guidelines for scientists to responsibly study this method of genetically altering wild plants and animals.

4 gene drives have gotten a lot of attention, as a way to prevent mosquitoes from spreading disease: scientists have engineered mosquitoes with gene drives that kill the parasite behind malaria, and theyre working on gene drives that either eradicate the mosquitoes that spread dengue, chikungunya, and zika or make them resistant to the viruses. the recent rise of crispr gene-editing technology has made it easier than ever for scientists to construct gene drives.

5 but using gene drives not to benefit humans but to restore natural habitats-like tropical islands beset with invasive rats-forces you to answer a very basic question: what is natural? what does it mean to engineer animals to restore nature? environmentalists have long decried genetically modified organisms, but will they embrace them for conservation?

a new natural

6 kent redford, former director of the wildlife conservation society institute, has questioned the working definition of
atural,\ and in 2013 he wrote about the lack of dialogue between synthetic biologists and conservationists. the reaction among conservationists he says, was \a range of anger and disgust to enthusiasm and excitement.\ since then redford, along with ryan phelan, executive director of revive and restore-an organization that promotes synthetic biology for

1. find the comma error in paragraph 4 and correct it.

1. what kind of organizations would advocate for gene drives as a way to fight invasive species.

1. highlight the sentence in paragraph 4 that supports this claim: gene drives are used to prevent diseases from being spread.

1. how could an ecosystem beset by invasive rats be affected?

1. how would you answer this question: what is natural?

1. how are poison and genetic engineering both examples of synthetic solutions to invasive species?

1. find the comma error in paragraph 6 and correct it.

Explanation:

Identify comma errors and corrections

• Paragraph 4: "Scientists have engineered mosquitoes with gene drives that kill the parasite behind malaria, and they're working on gene drives..." (No error here, but look at the first sentence: "...prevent mosquitoes from spreading disease: Scientists..." - colon is fine. Look at the list: "...dengue, chikungunya, and Zika or make them resistant..." - missing comma before "or" or comma splice elsewhere? Wait, look at paragraph 4: "Gene drives have gotten a lot of attention, as a way to prevent..." -> The comma after "attention" is unnecessary because "as a way..." is an essential prepositional phrase.
• Let's look at paragraph 6: "The reaction among conservationists he says, was..." -> Missing comma before "he says" to set off the parenthetical phrase "he says". It should be: "The reaction among conservationists, he says, was..."

Analyze comprehension questions

• Q7: Environmental/conservation organizations (like Revive and Restore mentioned in paragraph 6).
• Q8: "Scientists have engineered mosquitoes with gene drives that kill the parasite behind malaria, and they're working on gene drives that either eradicate the mosquitoes that spread dengue, chikungunya, and Zika or make them resistant to the viruses."
• Q9: Native species (like birds, plants, reptiles) are decimated or driven to extinction, disrupting the food web and degrading the natural habitat.
• Q10: "Natural" is traditionally defined as untouched by human engineering, but synthetic biology challenges this by using genetic tools to restore ecosystems.
• Q11: Both are human-made, artificial interventions designed to control or eradicate non-native populations, rather than letting ecological processes self-regulate.

Format final answers concisely

• Keep answers direct and brief as requested by the student profile.

Answer:

Question 6

• Error: Unnecessary comma after "attention" in the first sentence: "...attention, as a way..."
• Correction: Remove the comma: "...attention as a way to prevent..."

Question 7

• Environmental conservation organizations focused on biodiversity restoration and genetic rescue (such as Revive and Restore).

Question 8

• "Scientists have engineered mosquitoes with gene drives that kill the parasite behind malaria, and they're working on gene drives that either eradicate the mosquitoes that spread dengue, chikungunya, and Zika or make them resistant to the viruses."

Question 9

• Native wildlife populations are decimated, plant species are damaged, and the overall biodiversity and food web of the island are severely disrupted.

Question 10

• "Natural" traditionally means unaltered by human intervention, but genetic engineering to restore ecosystems blurs this definition by creating human-assisted "nature."

Question 11

• Both are artificial, human-engineered interventions designed to eliminate pests, replacing natural ecological self-regulation with technological control.

Question 12

• Error: Missing comma before the parenthetical phrase "he says" in the second sentence: "...conservationists he says, was..."
• Correction: Add a comma before "he says": "...conservationists, he says, was..."