Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh have used a new genetic engineering technique to create a pig that’s immune to African swine fever, a viral infection that is deadly for pigs.
The new “gene-editing” method—which the scientists say could be used to make cattle and sheep resistant to a host of diseases—was used to snip out a single mutation in the pig’s genome.
Gene-editing is faster and more efficient than existing methods, The Telegraph’s science reporter Nick Collins writes, and it “avoids one of the major concerns of anti-GM campaigners because it does not involve the use of antibiotic-resistance genes. Scientists hope it could make genetic engineering of livestock more acceptable to the public and be key to the challenge of feeding the growing global population.”
However, a glance through the article’s comment section shows that “Pig 26” is unlikely to change many minds—particularly of those who are determined to rail against GMOs whatever the science may say.
Read the full article (and comments) here: Pig born using new GM approach
