Alexey Kochetov, director of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk, welcomed the research programme, noting that genetics in Russia has been “chronically underfinanced” for decades. Funding for science plummeted in the 1990s following the break-up of the Soviet Union, and Russia still lags behind other major powers: in 2017, it spent 1.11% of its gross domestic product on research, compared with 2.13% in China and 2.79% in the United States.
A US$1.7-billion programme aims to develop 30 gene-edited plant and animal varieties in the next decade. A US$1.7-billion programme aims to develop 30 gene-edited plant and animal varieties in the next decade.
Comments are closed.