Hamartia Antidote
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yay for science and Frankenstein monsters
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/05/us/crispr-albino-lizard.html
Scientists weren’t expecting him to look like this.
The gene-edited lizard, right, and the control lizard were smaller than a fingertip after emerging from their shells.CreditHannah Schriever/University of Georgia
The gene-edited lizard, right, and the control lizard were smaller than a fingertip after emerging from their shells.CreditCreditHannah Schriever/University of Georgia
By Heather Murphy
That changed with the birth of a nearly transparent Anolis lizard, the first gene-edited reptile, according to the draft of a study made public this week.
Ashley Rasys, a graduate student at the University of Georgia who was involved in the lizard’s creation, arrived shortly after he broke through his thick M&M-size shell.
“I was floored,” she said.
“We weren’t really expecting to generate an albino lizard at first,” she added.
The steps involved in creating him are outlined in the paper, which was first reported by Science magazine. Scientists now have another model to utilize in genetic research.
“When we want to understand human biology we go to one of these model systems,” said Douglas Menke, the director of the genetics department at the University of Georgia and another author of the study. Until now, all 10,000 species of reptiles have been off-limits. “People thought they were just too hard to work with,” he said.
The challenge was figuring out how to access lizards’ reproductive systems in the right way at the right time. What his team has proved, he said, is that it is possible.
“We can now create two to four mutant lizards from just a day’s work,” he said.
It took the scientists about two years to figure out how to access the reproductive system of the lizards in the desired way. Then they had to use their genetic scalpel to target the lizard mom’s eggs, while they were still growing inside her.
a geneticist affiliated with Harvard and M.I.T., called the application of Crispr to lizards “significant.” Dr. Church uses genome modification techniques to try to reverse aging in dogs, to make pigs more compatible for organ transplants in humans, and to protect elephants from herpesvirus.
There is a movement to use gene editing to combat pathogens and environmental threats. Many reptiles are endangered. “Editing could help,” he said.
Jonathan Losos, an evolutionary biologist from Washington Universityin St. Louis, was also enthusiastic. “This study opens the door to studying the genetics of lizard evolution,” he said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/05/us/crispr-albino-lizard.html
Scientists weren’t expecting him to look like this.
The gene-edited lizard, right, and the control lizard were smaller than a fingertip after emerging from their shells.CreditHannah Schriever/University of Georgia
The gene-edited lizard, right, and the control lizard were smaller than a fingertip after emerging from their shells.CreditCreditHannah Schriever/University of Georgia
By Heather Murphy
- April 5, 2019
That changed with the birth of a nearly transparent Anolis lizard, the first gene-edited reptile, according to the draft of a study made public this week.
Ashley Rasys, a graduate student at the University of Georgia who was involved in the lizard’s creation, arrived shortly after he broke through his thick M&M-size shell.
“I was floored,” she said.
“We weren’t really expecting to generate an albino lizard at first,” she added.
The steps involved in creating him are outlined in the paper, which was first reported by Science magazine. Scientists now have another model to utilize in genetic research.
“When we want to understand human biology we go to one of these model systems,” said Douglas Menke, the director of the genetics department at the University of Georgia and another author of the study. Until now, all 10,000 species of reptiles have been off-limits. “People thought they were just too hard to work with,” he said.
The challenge was figuring out how to access lizards’ reproductive systems in the right way at the right time. What his team has proved, he said, is that it is possible.
“We can now create two to four mutant lizards from just a day’s work,” he said.
It took the scientists about two years to figure out how to access the reproductive system of the lizards in the desired way. Then they had to use their genetic scalpel to target the lizard mom’s eggs, while they were still growing inside her.
a geneticist affiliated with Harvard and M.I.T., called the application of Crispr to lizards “significant.” Dr. Church uses genome modification techniques to try to reverse aging in dogs, to make pigs more compatible for organ transplants in humans, and to protect elephants from herpesvirus.
There is a movement to use gene editing to combat pathogens and environmental threats. Many reptiles are endangered. “Editing could help,” he said.
Jonathan Losos, an evolutionary biologist from Washington Universityin St. Louis, was also enthusiastic. “This study opens the door to studying the genetics of lizard evolution,” he said.
