• Gene-Engineered Mosquitoes Can't Spread Malaria
    33 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Researchers in California say they have genetically engineered mosquitoes that cannot be infected with the malaria parasite — and they've done it in a way that virtually guarantees the trait will spread quickly in a population. They used a new technique called gene editing, one that allows for the precise placement of new DNA so that it has just the desired effects. And the particular gene editing technique they used, called CRISPR, causes the new trait to spread rapidly because it almost guarantees that the new gene will be passed along to new generations. "This opens up the real promise that this technique can be adapted for eliminating malaria," said Anthony James of the University of California Irvine, who helped lead the study. "We know the gene works. The mosquitoes we created are not the final brand, but we know this technology allows us to efficiently create large populations."Malaria is a huge problem globally. The parasite infected 198 million people in 2013, according to the World Health Organization. It killed more than 580,000 people, mostly children under the age of 5. There's a vaccine, but it doesn't work very well and is not widely used. The parasite quickly evolves resistance to drugs, so the main tools used to fight malaria are old-fashioned bed nets and pesticides. Scientists have been working on a number of techniques to make mosquitoes less likely to transmit malaria and other diseases. One big stumbling block is getting the modified mosquitoes to dominate a wild population of mosquitoes. Valentino Gantz of the University of California San Diego and his colleague Ethan Bier developed a way to get a mutation into both copies of a gene in an insect. That makes it more likely to be passed along. They combined this with the CRISPR method to get the anti-malaria gene right where they wanted it — a part of the DNA that would be passed along to future generations. This is called germline editing.So they could tell if their experiment worked, they added a gene that would give the insects glowing red eyes. It worked. The genetically modified mosquitoes passed the new gene to 99.5 percent of their offspring, they reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Now they'll have to test and see if the mosquitoes that have inherited the new gene actually are incapable of transmitting malaria. "This breakthrough strategy should also hold promise for many other arthropod transmitted diseases that affect humans and crops and for which the use of insecticides continues to be the main tool," said Anthony Shelton, an entomologist at Cornell University who was not involved in the study. Researchers have been trying something less efficient with mosquitoes that spread dengue virus, for instance.The California team say they doubt their method could ever completely eradicate malaria, but say it could be one of the tools used.[/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/gene-engineered-mosquitoes-cant-spread-malaria-researchers-n468481[/url] Maybe they could do the same thing for all those bees that keep dying? Also would the altered traits be passed on indefinitely? That confused me a little bit.
Alternatively, they could have engineered a mosquito that just dies when thinking about taking a bite of a human.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;49175314]Alternatively, they could have engineered a mosquito that just dies when thinking about taking a bite of a human.[/QUOTE] This. If we can make them unable to transmit malaria why can't we make them unable to metabolize proteins in human blood? Two birds with one stone.
[QUOTE=Snoberry Tea;49175378]This. If we can make them unable to transmit malaria why can't we make them unable to metabolize proteins in human blood? Two birds with one stone.[/QUOTE] Because they have to be able to mix with natural mosquito populations to have any positive effect.
They should patent it and charge 5000$ per mosquito.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;49175314]Alternatively, they could have engineered a mosquito that just dies when thinking about taking a bite of a human.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Snoberry Tea;49175378]This. If we can make them unable to transmit malaria why can't we make them unable to metabolize proteins in human blood? Two birds with one stone.[/QUOTE] Uh, because if they die then how the fuck are they supposed to pass on their genes? You cause nature to select against them by doing that.
I'm pretty sure at least one sci-fi horror movie starts out like this.
so, what else they will spread instead? cause there must be reason why universe seems to be empty of any advanced civilization ;)
[QUOTE=AntonioR;49175496]They should patent it and charge 5000$ per mosquito.[/QUOTE] I really hope they make it as cheap as possible, malaria mostly affects the developing word. [QUOTE=Dwarden;49176316]so, what else they will spread instead? cause there must be reason why universe seems to be empty of any advanced civilization ;)[/QUOTE] Because the universe is fucking huge and we're basically trying to spot a speck of sand in a grain silo from the other side of the Atlantic.
[QUOTE=apierce1289;49175095]Maybe they could do the same thing for all those bees that keep dying? Also would the altered traits be passed on indefinitely? That confused me a little bit.[/QUOTE] They attach the modified gene to a "gene drive", which is a naturally occurring sequence that overrides its matching one in the other chromosome somewhere in the reproduction cycle iinm. I'm pretty sure most or even all complex animals have some of these in their genome, but you can also modify them to promote more or less arbitrary foreign sequences. The article is a little inaccurate in that CRISPR is just a method to insert genes with high success rate that was discovered recently. Both are somewhat recent-ish discoveries, so it's definitely going to be interesting where this will go.
I can guarantee that there are at least some silly people out there who agree with this but disagree with other examples of genetically engineered animals. One's a pesky insect that spreads disease, compared to say a cute innocent goat.
[QUOTE=Mighty AMF;49177328]I can guarantee that there are at least some people out there who agree with this but disagree with other examples of genetically engineered animals.[/QUOTE] Of course, there's plenty of potential misuses of GM tech.
[QUOTE=Karmah;49175523]Uh, because if they die then how the fuck are they supposed to pass on their genes? You cause nature to select against them by doing that.[/QUOTE] Just make it a recessive gene. So it only occurs when the 2 parent mosquitos have the gene. Wouldn't wipe them out entirely but it would demolish the population and reduce their ability to spread disease.
[QUOTE=Rents;49177331]Of course, there's plenty of potential misuses of GM tech.[/QUOTE] Definitely but I'm speaking more along the lines of what's being genetically modified being apparently so important to some people. I'm just rashly assuming that some people will exist that say "How dare you cross a spider and a goat to make milk silk, that's playing god." and still say "Go ahead though, you can modify mosquito genes if it gets rid of malaria". I kinda worded my stuff wrong.
Sounds better than sterilising them as some idiots would propose.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;49175314]Alternatively, they could have engineered a mosquito that just dies when thinking about taking a bite of a human.[/QUOTE] They did? [url]http://www.healthline.com/health-news/tech-oxitec-mosquitoes-dengue-fever-032213#1[/url]
[QUOTE=Anderan;49176132]I'm pretty sure at least one sci-fi horror movie starts out like this.[/QUOTE] well... [QUOTE]So they could tell if their experiment worked, they added a gene that would give the insects glowing red eyes.[/QUOTE]
-snip Karmah said it better -
I am waiting for some of my 'GMO's are bad' friends to come out from the woodworks and say that this is dangerous.
[QUOTE=Snoberry Tea;49175378]This. If we can make them unable to transmit malaria why can't we make them unable to metabolize proteins in human blood? Two birds with one stone.[/QUOTE] We're afraid of outright committing genocide against an insect because we don't know what will happen. Making them incapable of spreading malaria is a much better solution
[QUOTE=proboardslol;49177944]We're afraid of outright committing genocide against an insect because we don't know what will happen. Making them incapable of spreading malaria is a much better solution[/QUOTE] At least if they're still around impact on environment will be minimal and if they can't spread disease they're just buzzy pestering things rather than a leading cause of death in africa.
[QUOTE=apierce1289;49175095]Source: [url]http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/gene-engineered-mosquitoes-cant-spread-malaria-researchers-n468481[/url] Maybe they could do the same thing for all those bees that keep dying? Also would the altered traits be passed on indefinitely? That confused me a little bit.[/QUOTE] Not really going to help bees, the thing that's killing them is pesticides and nanoparicles [editline]24th November 2015[/editline] Mosquito's that bite humans are invasive in most places so this isn't hurting them
I think it's funny how, I think, we already [I]could[/I] genetically engineer a "super human baby" of sorts if we wanted, or gene-modifying humans that is to some degree. But we don't, for some reason, we've established laws and restrictions against it.
if I recall correctly, mosquitoes are actually super important to the environment, as their larvae make up the diet of a shitload of different aquatic creatures, and eradicating them means radically fucking the environment this is the next best thing
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;49177336]Just make it a recessive gene. So it only occurs when the 2 parent mosquitos have the gene. Wouldn't wipe them out entirely but it would demolish the population and reduce their ability to spread disease.[/QUOTE] That wouldn't change anything. In the first situation you would have a group immediately expressing the gene and then die off unable to pass the gene on, in the second group you have the gene recessive and taking a while to express (by requiring 2 sets of the recessive gene in the mosquito) and then it dies off, unable to pass it on. It might be able to pass on a bit further, but it will still eventually be selected against statistically. [editline]24th November 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Bat-shit;49178660]I think it's funny how, I think, we already [I]could[/I] genetically engineer a "super human baby" of sorts if we wanted, or gene-modifying humans that is to some degree. But we don't, for some reason, we've established laws and restrictions against it.[/QUOTE] Gene manipulation isn't easy. Even if we found out every example of the best possible gene in the entire human genome, we wouldn't know right away if them working together causes an unintended secondary unexpected effect like producing too much of a certain protein, fucking up development for example. Since we value the lives of humans more than animals, it will take a long time to progress this step. Further, it is costly. Multiple tests are generally done to assay for the correct completion of the experiment, as well as this can be quite lengthy. Lastly, the mother may even miscarry, rendering the whole procedure for naught as well as a bunch of money out the window. There could even be social ramifications by being "[I]Genetically the best"[/I], not wanting to put that much pressure, stress, and expectations on your child
[QUOTE=Karmah;49175523]Uh, because if they die then how the fuck are they supposed to pass on their genes? You cause nature to select against them by doing that.[/QUOTE] You do realize mosquitoes prey on literally every single warm blooded mammal that exists right? Making them unable to drink human blood wouldn't kill them they could still get blood from dogs, cats, cows, goats, pigs, sheep, deer, etc etc [editline]24th November 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=proboardslol;49177944]We're afraid of outright committing genocide against an insect because we don't know what will happen. Making them incapable of spreading malaria is a much better solution[/QUOTE] How exactly is removing one of thousands of sources of food from an insect's viable prey table going to make them extinct?
[QUOTE=Snoberry Tea;49180774]You do realize mosquitoes prey on literally every single warm blooded mammal that exists right? Making them unable to drink human blood wouldn't kill them they could still get blood from dogs, cats, cows, goats, pigs, sheep, deer, etc etc [/QUOTE] I don't think you understand the concepts what we are talking about here. Mosquito's won't go extinct, that is a fact. People here are expressing how we ought to change them from preying on human blood by making it lethal to them via changing how they metabolize it. This wouldn't be effective because the batch that you alter with these genes wouldn't pass on the gene very far because ultimately they would die off more frequently then those without the gene. This is basic natural selection, the unchanged gene is more favored and will take a statistical precedence over the altered one.
[QUOTE=Karmah;49181051]I don't think you understand the concepts what we are talking about here. Mosquito's won't go extinct, that is a fact. People here are expressing how we ought to change them from preying on human blood by making it lethal to them via changing how they metabolize it. This wouldn't be effective because the batch that you alter with these genes wouldn't pass on the gene very far because ultimately they would die off more frequently then those without the gene. This is basic natural selection, the unchanged gene is more favored and will take a statistical precedence over the altered one.[/QUOTE] Uh they were quoting me and I didn't say "make it so human blood kils them" just "make it so they can't drink it"
[QUOTE=Snoberry Tea;49175378]This. If we can make them unable to transmit malaria why can't we make them unable to metabolize proteins in human blood? Two birds with one stone.[/QUOTE] They would all die off because the females would be unable to reproduce. They need the iron in blood to feed their larvae. If they're incapable of reproducing, they're incapable of replacing normal mosquitoes.
[QUOTE=Snoberry Tea;49181642]Uh they were quoting me and I didn't say "make it so human blood kils them" just "make it so they can't drink it"[/QUOTE] You quoted me, so...
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