144030842
submission
wooloohoo writes:
New vaccine trials hold great promise in the management of an East African strain of African swine fever (ASF), one of the most devastating diseases to afflict pigs.
Scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are employing CRISPR Cas9 editing and synthetic biology to modify the ASFV genome in order to attenuate the virus for a live vaccine to help reduce deaths from African swine fever. Up to 10 vaccine candidates have been lined up for tests, in a project that commenced in 2016.
“This is the first test based on a genome to be conducted on genotype IX, which is prevalent in Eastern and Central Africa,” Lucilla Steinaa, leading scientist in the vaccine research against African swine fever at ILRI, told the Alliance. The genetic characterization of all the ASF virus isolates known so far has demonstrated 23 geographically related genotypes with numerous subgroups, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“There are seven to 10 candidates, on a variety of stages,” Steinaa said. “We have just started the lab experiment, a controlled animal experiment, which I estimate may run until the end of 2022 or thereabouts. By then, we hope to have found a candidate vaccine that can be produced.”Link to Original Source
143335778
submission
wooloohoo writes:
Livestock researchers in Africa are looking to genome editing and other new technologies to identify genes that could help them tame the spread of a parasite that spreads sleeping sickness in animals and humans.
In addition to work aimed at eradicating African trypanosomiasis, scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi are using gene editing to introduce such desirable traits as heat tolerance and disease resistance into cattle and chickens, said Prof. Steve Kemp, program leader in livestock genetics at ILRI. However, he said the effort is still at the preliminary research stage.Link to Original Source
143222058
submission
wooloohoo writes:
There are two types of chickens: the broilers that we eat and the layers that produce the eggs. The layers don’t have enough meat to make them useful for human consumption and since only hens can lay eggs, that leaves the male layers useless. As a result, billions of newly hatched male layer chicks are killed each year.
Now the Israeli ag-tech startup eggXYt has found a way to humanely address this dilemma through the use of CRISPR — the gene editing technique that allows scientists to make targeted, specific genetic tweaks.
[...] by using CRISPR, eggXYt’s scientists can edit the genes of chickens to make them lay sex-detectable eggs.Link to Original Source
142768872
submission
wooloohoo writes:
Research on Ghana’s first gene-edited crop — a high-yielding sweet potato with increased beta carotone content — is under way at the University of Cape Coast.
“For sweet potatoes, we want to look at how we can use the CRISPR-Cas9 system to increase beta carotene,” said Samuel Acheampong of the university’s Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, who has been working on the project for the past year. “Beta carotene is a big deal for us because as animals, when we eat beta carotene, our cells are able to convert them into vitamin A.”
The World Health Organization estimates that between 250,000 and 500,000 children in developing nations go blind every year as a result of vitamin A deficiency, making it the world’s leading preventable cause of childhood blindness. Some 50 percent of them die within a year of losing their sight. Respiratory illnesses and infectious and diarrheal diseases in children also have been linked to vitamin A deficiency.
Acheampong is using CRISPR-Cas9 to knock out the genes responsible for the production of an enzyme in the sweet potato that converts beta carotene into other products. This will leave higher beta carotene content in the crop, which when consumed by humans will allow them to produce vitamin A. Sweet potato is a very popular vegetable in Ghana, making it ideal for a biofortification effort of this kind.
The Ghanaian scientist started the research while studying at North Carolina State University in the United States. He has since transferred the work to his lab back home at the University of Cape Coast. “I’m at the developmental stage,” he explained when the Alliance for Science visited his lab. “I’m developing the metrics to optimize the conditions for efficient regeneration of sweet potatoes.”
142233662
submission
wooloohoo writes:
The advent of climate change, coupled with new plant pests and diseases, has worsened the plight of Ghanaian farmers, relegating them to remain in poverty as their crop yields and incomes plunge.
Modern, climate-smart agricultural technologies, such as genetically modified crops (GMOs), can help combat these threats. However, scare-mongering and misinformation, which Ghanaians term “scarecrow,” make farmers perceive such technology as white man’s witchcraft. Since they see it unnatural, they are stuck with crude, unproductive farming methods — the “hoe.”
The adoption of GM insect-resistant cowpea and nitrogen use-efficient (NUE) rice could help farmers in Ghana to improve their yields, their incomes and their lives. These crops have been vetted and recommended by the CSIR of Ghana. But regulatory delays that prevent farmers from accessing these improved seeds, and lingering fears about technology, may erode these benefits in both Ghana and Africa at large.
141899158
submission
wooloohoo writes:
A new research study at the University of Missouri is using CRISPR to create a transgenic mosquito that is resistant to the Zika virus in a bid to stop the disease from spreading.
141706916
submission
wooloohoo writes:
Vaccine site listings will show access requirements and appointment info.
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine means a ton of people are soon going to be looking for vaccination sites. As usual, Google wants to be at the center of getting people where they're going, and in a new blog post Google says it will start loading Search and Maps with information on vaccination sites. "In the coming weeks," the company writes, "COVID-19 vaccination locations will be available in Google Search and Maps, starting with Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, with more states and countries to come."
Soon you'll be able to search "COVID vaccine" and get location results showing access requirements, appointment information, and if a site has a drive-through. Google says it is partnering with the Boston Children's Hospital's VaccineFinder.org, government agencies, and retail pharmacies for the data.
