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In the Media: Nine Newspapers on Gene-Edited 'Super-Quolls' and De-Extinction

I was quoted across Nine Newspapers — The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times, and WA Today — in coverage of the controversial idea of gene-editing native predators to resist cane-toad toxin, and the broader question of whether reviving or re-engineering animal species is a sound conservation strategy.

The article, “Could gene-edited ‘super-quolls’ fight back against cane toads?”, examines proposals to engineer northern quolls with toxin resistance, alongside wider de-extinction debates. I commented on the trade-offs of intervening in evolutionary trajectories and on what genomic tools can and cannot deliver for conservation outcomes.

Read the article:

Published 21 April 2026.