Gene-edited pigs: can we engineer immunity? – Science Weekly podcast

Pigs have been rendered immune to a disease that has cost billions.Hannah Devlin questions whether this could be the future of eliminating debilitating and costly viruses in livestockSubscribe and review onAcast,Apple Podcasts,Soundcloud,Audioboom andMixcloud. Join the discussion onFacebook andTwitterPorcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome is the most significant disease affecting pigs worldwide. In the United States, it costs around $644m ( £486m) every year, and for Europe, it’s believed that figure is almost €1.5bn (£1.3bn). There is no cure and vaccines have proven ineffective. However, hope is on the horizon. A group of scientists at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh has edited the genes of pigs.Deleting a section of DNA has render them immune to the virus.Continue reading...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - June 22, 2018 Category: Science Authors: Presented by Hannah Devlin and produced by Graihagh Jackson Tags: Farming Science Genetics Source Type: news