gene editing
This week I've had mocks at school so everything has been pushed to the weekend that's why I'm doing this quite late. Anyway last week in biology we were looking at gene editing and the different methods of carrying out gene editing. on top of this we also looked at the ethical debate behind gene editing and what the legalisation of this procedure could incur. I was reading the veterinary news and noticed that there were two article about gene insertion in animals. So once I had read them I decided this was going to be my blog for the week.
The first article was about making pigs immune to "porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome" ( PRRS) , which cost the pork industry billions each year. The university of Edinburgh had been carrying out research at their Rosalind Institute alone with Genus and the Pirbright Institute.
They had been looking at whether it was possible to use a gene- technology tool called CRISPR, to remove a small section of DNA from the pigs DNA code from a gene called CD163. They found that this CD163 gene when inserted into DNA in the lab can prevent the virus from being able to cause the infection. the next step showed that the cells taken from pigs with this gene were fully resistant to the virus and the major sub groups of the virus which cause the infection. A big positive is that so far this transgenic cell hasn't shown any side effects and can function normally. I think that research like this is so important, it has the ability to prevent the suffering of many animals and has the potential to save the industry billions. However you do have the ethical debate of where could to legalisation of this type of gene technology lead, could it be used for the wrong reasons like creating animals which are beneficial to the industry but have a low quality of life ? This is the danger and this is why this type of technology has to be very closely monitored.
The second article was about TB in cows and being able to genetically engineer them to be more resistant to TB. the research was being done by China’s Northwest A&F University in Shaanxi. They are using the same technique as previously mentioned CRISPR, to insert a "natural TB resistance- associated macrophage protein NRAMP1" into the genetic code of calves. The research found that transgenic cows were more resistant to TB, but also so far there have been no observed side effects. When the calves were exposed to Mycobacterium bovis, they had increased resistance and also the white blood cells of these calves had an increased resistance to M bovis. The article finished by saying that this research proves that CRISPR can be used to insert a gene to a specific locus in the DNA of a calve with few side mutations and the increased resistance to M bovis. This research is very important, in the UK there is a problem with TB if we can create cattle that are resistant it has the capability to help farmers and protect the cows. I know that this doesn't solve the root of the problem which is that TB is still carried by rodents and badgers along with other animals. However it is a step in the right direction and the possibilities of this could be taken further, taking into account the ethical debate that I have previously mentioned.
Thank you very much for reading, my information was obtained from the Vet Times website. Go check it out it has really good news stories. I know I may be naïve on this matter, but I do feel it is important both in veterinary and in human medicine and the capabilities and very useful. However I will always have the view that someone could start using this gene editing for all the wrong reason, so I understand why the government is being weary on legalising this testing, however with the capabilities shown here and some of the medical advancements I think, the go ahead should be thought about because it could put an end to some people and animals suffering.
The first article was about making pigs immune to "porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome" ( PRRS) , which cost the pork industry billions each year. The university of Edinburgh had been carrying out research at their Rosalind Institute alone with Genus and the Pirbright Institute.
They had been looking at whether it was possible to use a gene- technology tool called CRISPR, to remove a small section of DNA from the pigs DNA code from a gene called CD163. They found that this CD163 gene when inserted into DNA in the lab can prevent the virus from being able to cause the infection. the next step showed that the cells taken from pigs with this gene were fully resistant to the virus and the major sub groups of the virus which cause the infection. A big positive is that so far this transgenic cell hasn't shown any side effects and can function normally. I think that research like this is so important, it has the ability to prevent the suffering of many animals and has the potential to save the industry billions. However you do have the ethical debate of where could to legalisation of this type of gene technology lead, could it be used for the wrong reasons like creating animals which are beneficial to the industry but have a low quality of life ? This is the danger and this is why this type of technology has to be very closely monitored.
The second article was about TB in cows and being able to genetically engineer them to be more resistant to TB. the research was being done by China’s Northwest A&F University in Shaanxi. They are using the same technique as previously mentioned CRISPR, to insert a "natural TB resistance- associated macrophage protein NRAMP1" into the genetic code of calves. The research found that transgenic cows were more resistant to TB, but also so far there have been no observed side effects. When the calves were exposed to Mycobacterium bovis, they had increased resistance and also the white blood cells of these calves had an increased resistance to M bovis. The article finished by saying that this research proves that CRISPR can be used to insert a gene to a specific locus in the DNA of a calve with few side mutations and the increased resistance to M bovis. This research is very important, in the UK there is a problem with TB if we can create cattle that are resistant it has the capability to help farmers and protect the cows. I know that this doesn't solve the root of the problem which is that TB is still carried by rodents and badgers along with other animals. However it is a step in the right direction and the possibilities of this could be taken further, taking into account the ethical debate that I have previously mentioned.
Thank you very much for reading, my information was obtained from the Vet Times website. Go check it out it has really good news stories. I know I may be naïve on this matter, but I do feel it is important both in veterinary and in human medicine and the capabilities and very useful. However I will always have the view that someone could start using this gene editing for all the wrong reason, so I understand why the government is being weary on legalising this testing, however with the capabilities shown here and some of the medical advancements I think, the go ahead should be thought about because it could put an end to some people and animals suffering.
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