genetically

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Stem Cells Genetically Engineered Transformed Into Working Mini-Livers Extended The Life Of Mice With Liver Disease

Imagine if researchers could program stem cells, which have the potential to grow into all cell types in the body, so that they could generate an entire human organ. This would allow scientists to manufacture tissues for testing drugs and reduce the demand for transplant organs by having new ones grown directly from a patient’s cells. A cross section of lab-grown human liver tissue. The green shows the network of blood vessels. Velazquez et al. Cell Systems , CC BY-SA Takeaways Scientists have made progress growing human liver in the lab. The challenge has been to direct stems cells to grow into a mature, functioning adult organ. This study shows that stem cells can be programmed, using genetic engineering, to grow from immature cells into mature tissue. When a tiny lab-grown liv...

An argument for gene drive technology to genetically control insects like mosquitoes and locusts

The fate of society rests in part on how humans navigate their complicated relationship with insects – trying to save “good” insects and control “bad” ones. Some insects, like mosquitoes, bite people and make them sick – remember Zika? Now the U.S. mosquito season is already in full swing, with over 10 cases of Dengue fever reported in the Florida Keys this year. Some insects, like bees, are pollinators that help produce our food. Others, like locusts, currently threaten crops in East Africa and Asia, preferring to eat our food instead. Insects have proven themselves extremely capable at evolving strategies to get around control methods, such as chemical insecticides and habitat modification, and current pest control technologies are simply not keeping up. We are both insect scientists. ...

Genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in Florida and Texas beginning this summer – silver bullet or jumping the gun?

This summer, for the first time, genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the U.S. On May 1, 2020, the company Oxitec received an experimental use permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release millions of GM mosquitoes (labeled by Oxitec as OX5034) every week over the next two years in Florida and Texas. Females of this mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, transmit dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses. When these lab-bred GM males are released and mate with wild females, their female offspring die. Continual, large-scale releases of these OX5034 GM males should eventually cause the temporary collapse of a wild population. However, as vector biologists, geneticists, policy experts and bioethicists, we are concerned that current government oversight ...