Mutant Sheep Are Being Bred In Lab To Fight Lethal Child Brain Disease (theguardian.com) 16
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Scientists have created a flock of sheep that carry the gene for a lethal inherited brain disorder in humans. The condition, Batten disease, usually starts in childhood and is invariably fatal, often within a few years of diagnosis. The project, which is designed to test treatments for the disease, is based at Edinburgh University's Roslin Institute, where cloning techniques were used to create Dolly the sheep in 1996. The scientists acknowledge that the approach could be controversial as it involves creating animals programmed to die, but stress that their aim is to alleviate human suffering.
There are several types of Batten disease, said project leader Tom Wishart. "One of the more rapid types is CLN1, and that's what we have recreated in our sheep." The Roslin scientists used the gene-editing technique Crispr-Cas9 to create the faulty CLN1 gene in the sheep. "We collected sheep embryos from the abattoir," Wishart said. "Then we fertilized them and added Crispr reagents to alter their genetic structure before implanting the embryos into a surrogate sheep's uterus." Three sheep were born that each possessed two copies of the CLN1 gene with the same mutation found in affected humans. They began to show many symptoms of Batten disease, including changes in behavior and brain size. Other sheep were engineered to carry only a single copy of the gene. "These are symptomless carriers, like the parents of Batten disease children," said Wishart. "From these we can breed sheep that have two faulty copies of the CLN1 gene. These will go on to develop a disease like those children, and will be the ones to test our therapies."
There are several types of Batten disease, said project leader Tom Wishart. "One of the more rapid types is CLN1, and that's what we have recreated in our sheep." The Roslin scientists used the gene-editing technique Crispr-Cas9 to create the faulty CLN1 gene in the sheep. "We collected sheep embryos from the abattoir," Wishart said. "Then we fertilized them and added Crispr reagents to alter their genetic structure before implanting the embryos into a surrogate sheep's uterus." Three sheep were born that each possessed two copies of the CLN1 gene with the same mutation found in affected humans. They began to show many symptoms of Batten disease, including changes in behavior and brain size. Other sheep were engineered to carry only a single copy of the gene. "These are symptomless carriers, like the parents of Batten disease children," said Wishart. "From these we can breed sheep that have two faulty copies of the CLN1 gene. These will go on to develop a disease like those children, and will be the ones to test our therapies."
Dupe (Score:4, Informative)
Re: Dupe (Score:3)
What's it going to take to fight dupes? Mutant moderators?
Slashdot Researchers Develop Cloned Article (Score:2)
Now for a useless urination contest over whether vi or Emacs was used in this crucial item of computational development.
Choose wisely (Score:2)
Don't they also say that's a distinction without a difference?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
"The scientists acknowledge that the approach could be controversial as it involves creating animals programmed to die, but stress that their aim is to alleviate human suffering."
Don't they also say that's a distinction without a difference?
We breed sheep all the time . . . only with the intent to kill them and turn them into a yummy leg of lamb.
That's where I don't see any difference. But we all love sheep; they are cute and cuddly like "Shaun the Sheep".
Maybe animal rights folks would argue that the disease causes more suffering than a bolt through the brain. But animal rights folks probably don't like the bolts either.
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Concerned (Score:1)
I hope something doesn't go b-a-a-a-a-d.
Look at the bright side. (Score:2)
After another week or so we'll be able to count the occurrences of this article to fall asleep at night.
Got a flashback when reading (Score:2)
Anybody remembering "O lucky man" with Malcolm McDowell, the sheep scene?
Batten (Score:2)
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Cordwainer Smith Shoutout (Score:2)
Maybe not "Norstrilia", exactly, but I'm not going to miss an opportunity to mention a brilliant, forgotten SF author who wrote about giant, diseased mutant sheep and the farmers who harvest immortality from them.