I think we should clear up this point: selective breeding is NOT the same as genetic modification. A hybrid can only inherit characteristics that are present in its parents' genes. GM allows a gene from another source to be incorporated in the plant or animal.

I'm not against this kind of research. I have a friend who is eight years old. She has a condition called epidermolysis bullosa, which basically means that due to a faulty gene she doesn't have the structures that hold the layers of our skin together. Her skin blisters at the least touch. This means that her mum can't cuddle her or pick her up; she can't wear clothes with seams - she has to wear her underwear inside out; she can barely eat any more, and has to be fed directly into her stomach. A lot of research has been done on the condition, and a gene therapy will be available in a few years, which will be able to correct the genes in her skin cells, but will need to be applied frequently, as it wears off. This is because it could be very dangerous to make something would permanently change the genetic composition of her whole body; it won't be able to spread to toher people. No-one's going to make money out of this, which is maybe why they can afford to be so cautious.

Steve