#safely eradicate #parasites via #gene-drive
#medical : lice, scabies : #gene_drive
#lice (body, pubic, head) & #mites (' #scabies ') and #bedbugs have no #natural_predators , it would be fantastically amazing to have a #genedrive to #eradicate the sometimes-lethal insects. Last year, it was widely reported, one on the east coast had died -- was literally eaten alive by a parasite colony in jail. No treatment had been granted, despite repeat complaints. More recently, prisoners in #ice jails, families & children in #Gaza , and held in #Israeli #prisons have reported being deliberately #infected with scabies and lice, suffering horribly. Also #RX #treatment_resistance - much like #antibiotic_resistance w #superbugs - to conventional RX (#antiparasitics ) has skyrocketed: in late 1990s, efficacy was ~97% in USA. But a decade ago by 2016, dropped to ~35%. Today, the identical treatment is prescribed as 30 years ago. Finally, said #drugs = #neurotoxin #nerve_damage . A #genedrive could fix all of that. What is it? A gene edit which makes 100% of all offspring male: no females = inability to #reproduce and it perpetuates every generation so an edited male reproduces w nonedited female and all eggs become male, also carrying the gene-edit.... And eventually the colony depopulates entirely. A very fast & effective cure ..... versus.... a months-long hopeless battle dousing one's body in vinegar, daily, plus numerous other toxins & nerve damage. #genomics #genetics
#GeneDrive
1️⃣2️⃣ Gene Drive = Eradication
A gene drive could permanently eliminate screwworm. Clean, scalable, final. But we haven’t funded it. Why? Because it requires foresight, patience, and trust.
#GeneDrive #Biotech #GlobalSolutions
#20postchallenge
Genetic Engineering and Diseases – Gene Drive & Malaria
Gene drives work like genetic shortcuts, helping new traits spread fast across populations. They’re being explored to fight diseases like malaria by either blocking mosquito reproduction or making them immune to the parasite. A new study digs into the mechanism that limit gene drive efficiency and proposes new designs to boost their performance. 1/n
🌽 Teosinte Pollen Drive: Scientists may have discovered corn's 'missing link'
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-teosinte-pollen-scientists-corn-link.html
La génétique peut-elle nous sauver? Un thème à retrouver dans le dernier numéro d' Usbek et Rica
#genedrive#forcage#génétique #OGM #CRiSPR #GMO
Fighting viruses with viruses? ‘Gene drive’ offers new strategy to beat infections
https://www.science.org/content/article/fighting-viruses-viruses-gene-drive-offers-new-strategy-beat-infections #GeneDrive #LatentInfection #virus #herpesvirus #mice
Interesting. People were losing their minds with the idea of #GeneDrive and #CRISPR doing this.
Well, as we so often find, nature is already doing it....
Male-Killing Virus Is Discovered in Insects
The Gamble: Can Genetically Modified Mosquitoes End Disease?
600,000 still die annually from #malaria. Interesting article from #newyorktimes about using a #genedrive to make mosquitoes immune to the parasite and the issues involved.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/29/health/mosquitoes-genetic-engineering.html
More developments in making gene drives using CRISPR.
In order to combat Drosophila suzukii fruit destroying flies, NC State researchers have created a "homing" gene drive targeting the fly doublesex gene that, if inhibited, will result in sterility of the next generation.
Since the gene is so conserved, it could also be used as a target with other harmful insects.
#CRISPR #GeneDrive #Flies #Sterility #Biology #Science #Biotech #Biotechnology #Scicomm
Gene drive in the medfly! Happy to be part of this preprint with Angela Meccariello, Philippos Papathanos, and Nikolai Windbichler
#genedrive #synbio #medfly
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.16.553191v1
Labor-Mücken bekämpfen Artgenossen, um Menschen zu retten | DW | 24.04.2023
#Mücken #Malaria #Dengue #Zika #Gelbfieber #Anopheles #CRISPRCas9 #GeneDrive #Impfung
Labor-Mücken im Kampf gegen Malaria, Dengue und Co. | DW | 24.04.2023
#Mücken #Malaria #Dengue #Zika #Gelbfieber #Anopheles #CRISPRCas9 #GeneDrive #Impfung
¿Deberíamos deshacernos de los mosquitos?
https://mujeresconciencia.com/2023/02/05/deberiamos-deshacernos-de-los-mosquitos/
#GeneDrive
This week I have done some conceptual digging into metaphors uses in gene drive communication https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2023/01/20/gene-drive-communication-on-bombs-and-bullets/ #metaphor #scicomm #genedrive
"On taking a blood meal, mosquitoes with the modification produce two antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the gut, which impair the malaria parasite’s development. The two peptides are magainin 2, which was first found within skin secretions of the African claw frog Xenopus laevis, and melittin, a primary toxin component of the European honey bee Apis mellifera." #malaria, #antimicrobialpeptides #genedrive
Nice commentary on our recent study demonstrating the first feasible #genedrive for control of #invasive #rodents on islands. A promising new tool for #conservation
https://youtu.be/Ee2Tlex6-PU voices from Africa COP15 #gmo #genedrive
My introduction! I'm Philip Leftwich, an Associate Professor at the University of East Anglia. I teach #genetics, programming, and #statistics. I also research gene editing, #genedrive and applied methods for pest insect control