The UK government on Wednesday announced rule changes that will make it easier to research and develop “gene-edited” food crops, though it was opposed by nearly 90 percent of respondents to the consultation. The rule changes will allow field trials in England of gene-edited crops without having to go through a licensing process that takes a couple of months and costs researchers £5,000 to £10,000 ($6,700-$13,500), although scientists will still have to inform the Environment Department (Defra) of their work. Ministers made the decision despite 87 percent of individual responses to a government consultation raising concerns over the risk of gene-editing and calling for it to continue to be regulated as genetically modified organisms (GMO). The government said gene-editing, which involves the manipulation of genes within a single species or genus, is less risky than GMO, in which DNA from one species is introduced to a different one. Despite public …