CRISPR Is A Game-Changer Tackling Climate Change, World Hunger

·43 min·2 clips

Tom Adams says CRISPR works like a programmable GPS system that finds exact base pairs in a genome.

1. Nature and Science Podcast’s episode on CRISPR, plant gene editing, and climate change centers on Dr. Tom Adams and Pairwise’s work on food crops. 2. Don Murphy hosts, and Dr. Tom Adams of Pairwise explains why plant gene editing matters for agriculture, consumer taste, and food security. 3. The episode asks how CRISPR can speed breeding, improve plant traits, and address world hunger and climate pressure without changing the whole food system. 4. Adams traces his path from gardening as a kid to botany and plant pathology in college, then to Michigan State and Texas A&M. 5. He says a sabbatical at Millennium Pharmaceuticals led to Sirion Genomics and then a 20-year run at Monsanto focused on plant performance and industry needs. 6. He contrasts old transgene-based GMOs with CRISPR editing, describing CRISPR-Cas9 as a programmable tool for exact DNA changes. 7. Adams uses sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia to show why precise single-gene edits matter in medicine, even though the episode stays focused on plants. 8. He explains that plants are edited differently from humans because each species needs its own delivery method, with agrobacterium, proteins, or viruses used depending on the crop. 9. He says plant cells can regenerate into whole plants, which makes single-cell editing practical in many plant species. 10. Adams draws a line between conventional breeding, GMOs, and gene editing, saying gene editing usually accelerates breeding rather than adding a foreign gene. 11. He says mustard greens were edited by removing the enzyme that creates the spicy flavor that cooking normally destroys. 12. He says Pairwise launched those gene-edited greens in 2023 and later licensed them to Bear’s Vegetable Company. 13. He describes a seedless, thornless blackberry, saying 85% of blackberry eaters complain about seeds getting stuck in their teeth. 14. He says the company is also working toward pitless cherries and berries that could be more productive for growers. 15. He says only about 10% of people eat the amount of fruits and vegetables they are told to eat, and he links that gap to consumer barriers and planet-level impacts. 16. He says Pairwise launched its greens outdoors in California’s salad bowl and in the Yuma, Arizona area, while noting that indoor production still matters for some crops. 17. The conversation has an explanatory interview style, with Don Murphy asking practical questions about vectors, GMO distinctions, market timing, and consumer reactions. 18. Adams’ tone is technical but measured, and he repeatedly returns to testing, tradeoffs, and the limits of what gene editing can solve. 19. Listeners interested in CRISPR agriculture, plant breeding, and food innovation would get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a deep medical CRISPR case study or a purely consumer-food story may skip it.

As heard by us

CRISPR is framed as practical crop science with clear consumer and grower stakes.

CRISPR is treated as a practical food-and-farming tool, with Dr. Tom Adams and Pairwise anchoring the discussion in plant editing meant to make familiar crops more usable and appealing.

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Hear how CRISPR is being used to make tastier greens and seedless, thornless blackberries.

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