Stefan Jansson was one of the speakers at the third TEDxUmeå meeting at the 11th of May
2016. You can now watch his talk with the title “To be or not be a GMO, that is the question” under the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyrsNa1jLpo.
2016. You can now watch his talk with the title “To be or not be a GMO, that is the question” under the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyrsNa1jLpo. Stefan is explaining in his talk why plants modified using the new gene editing methods like CRIPSR-Cas9 do not fit into the original definition for a genetically modified organism (GMO). By using a basket filled with vegetables, fruits and an Arabidopsis plant he is comparing traditional and advanced breeding technologies and points out the problematic nature that the legislation has to face now with the new gene editing methods.
The motto of TEDxUmeå2016 was “challenging the norm” and should reflect also Umeå as a “young and progressive university city”. The invited speakers were artists, scientists and thinkers who were supposed to present “norm-breaking” ideas or new views on certain topics. The size of the whole event was increased this year up to 400 participants.
TEDx events are non-profit events based on TED conferences which have the motto “Ideas Worth Spreading”. They are - in contrast to TED conferences - local and self-organized independently from TED. TEDxUmeå is financed by several sponsors and supported among others by Umeå University as partner.