The start of the first field trial with an edited plant had been greeted with joy by Italian scientists (here is the announcement in Nature Italy). However, less than two months after planting, unknown persons vandalized the harmless rice plants, Science reported. Fortunately, all was not lost: some plants survived, and with them the hope of completing this experiment and starting new ones. We talked about this with Vittoria Brambilla, who together with Fabio Fornara developed the edited rice at the University of Milan and obtained permission to study it outdoors to see how resistant it is to a fungal infection (rice blast). Please find the interview on the Italian site Agriscienza.