Research progress on "genetic scissors" December 06, 2017 Source: Yangcheng Evening News The new issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that American scientists recently used the "genetic scissors" tool to breed a number of Aedes aegypti, whose morphological changes were yellow, with three eyes and malformed wings. The study aims to block mosquito-borne diseases through genetic modification. But how do you cultivate a deformed mosquito for the benefit of mankind? Many people do not understand the role of "genetic scissors" in genetic engineering research. In recent years, Chinese scientists have been very successful in the research of "genetic scissors". After the successful revision of a gene of human embryos by Sun Yat-sen University in 2015, the mutation of this gene was prevented from causing thalassemia and thus gaining international reputation. The Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has teamed up with Nanjing University Biomedical Research Institute and Guangzhou Medical Research Institute to study the problem of canine somatic cell cloning and successfully cultivate the world's first myostatin knockout dog. Recently, the institute also announced the development of a tool pig with its own “genetic scissorsâ€, and successfully established a large animal primary lung cancer model within three months. Although there is still controversy, there is still a lot of substantial progress in the research of "genetic scissors" technology, and I believe that it will benefit human beings in the near future. A "Genetic scissors" technology is developing rapidly The new gene editing technology called CRISPR/Cas9, commonly known as "genetic scissors", was published in the "Science" magazine in 2015 as the "Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs in 2015". The technology was discovered by scientists in 2012 and quickly became the first tool in biomedical history to efficiently, accurately, and programmatically modify the genome of a cell, including the human genome. In April 2015, Huang Jun, a scientist at Sun Yat-Sen University in China, announced the first global use of “genetic scissors†technology to successfully modify a gene in human embryos, preventing mutations in this gene from causing thalassemia. In the same year, Huang Jun was selected as one of the “Top Ten Scientific and Technological Persons of the Year†in the British magazine Nature. The full name of "genetic scissors" should be "clustered, regularly spaced short palindrome repeats", which is a mechanism for bacteria to prevent viral invasion. Unlike traditional genetic modification techniques, “genetic scissors†can harness the immune system of bacteria, truncate or even destroy individual genes, and then insert new genes at their corresponding sites. When people slowly explore different combinations of genes, different expressions, and different functions, and then use this tool to "break each", "from the treatment of various human diseases, to solve the mystery of species extinction", various fields of biology The problem may be solved gradually. Although there are still many people who are worried about whether the future of this technology will lead to ethical issues such as "customized baby" (that is, knocking out some bad specific genes from embryonic cells to cultivate idealized babies), some related issues. Technology has actually begun to be applied to various fields such as agriculture, military, environmental protection, and medical care that are closely related to our lives. For example, scientists have used "genetic scissors" to successfully carry out experiments to improve wheat and tomatoes, and also produce wheat against powdery mildew (one of the most common blight), and so on. As John Travis, executive editor of Science magazine, said at the time: "By good or bad, we are now living in the world of 'genetic scissors' technology." B Chinese scientists contribute excellence Chinese scientists have made outstanding contributions in this regard. In 2015, Huang Jun told Nature that he edited the human embryo (the hospital's abandoned defective embryo) gene, hoping that "it can reveal the genetic roots of diseases such as cancer or diabetes, and can also be used to study embryonic development. The function of each gene in it." Another Chinese scholar, Yang Yu, who did postdoctoral research at Harvard University, knocked out 62 viral genes in the pig genome with American colleagues, clearing the major difficulties of using pig organs for human transplantation, and requiring organ transplants around the world. Millions of patients bring hope. At the end of June 2014, the "World's First Myostatin Knockout Dog" was jointly developed by the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Nanjing Institute of Biomedical Research and the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Nanjing University. It is. By the end of 15 months, the two knockout dogs named "Hercules" and "Tiangou" have clearly shown that they are far stronger and stronger than their peers, and they are more athletic. The research team thus established the dog's gene targeting technology system for the first time in the world. On May 28, 2017, the birth of the world's first gene knockout somatic cell clone dog, "Dragon", marked the country as the second independent country to master the canine somatic cell cloning technology after Korea. On November 16, 2017, the research team led by Lai Liangxue of the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences published the latest research results in Genomics Research. The researchers constructed the new conditional Cas9 gene model pig model for the first time. Using gene targeting technology, they successfully added a “genetic scissors†to the pig and positioned a “switch†(see “Links†for details), allowing researchers to cut them more freely in the study. The function is turned on and controlled. Using such a tool pig model, the editing of single-gene, multi-gene, and large-segment genes in large animals can be efficiently realized, and Chinese scientists are the first to directly perform in-vivo gene editing on adult large animals, and establish a large animal for the first time. Primary lung cancer model. In the research of "genetic scissors" technology, this is undoubtedly a big step forward. C still needs to think from scientific research to practical application The birth of a special "knockout" animal means that the "genetic scissors" technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Why are some people still questioning the application of this technology to our daily lives? I don't want to talk about ethical concerns like "customized baby" here. I will return to the "knockout Aedes aegypti" cultivated by American scientists mentioned in the opening section. According to the researchers, the current experiment is only the first step. Their long-term goal is to control the number of mosquitoes by inserting and spreading target genes, such as genes that destroy reproductive ability, by using mosquitoes that stably express Cas9 enzyme in the body. Reduce the spread of disease. This is indeed an anti-mosquito and anti-mosquito method that is both environmentally friendly and less costly. But when will it really be applied to our lives? In fact, similar research has been ongoing. At the beginning of this century, a method of controlling pest populations invented by the team of Dr. Luke Alfie of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, transfected a lethal gene into the insect genome, under certain conditions, the lethal gene would stimulate Transgenic insects produce large amounts of toxins in the body, which ultimately leads to the death of transgenic insect larvae. In 2007, Professor Luke Alfie’s team first publicized the use of the above-mentioned technology to produce genetically modified sterile Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes, and also carried out a series of field release tests to verify whether the sterile mosquito can control Aedes aegypti total group number. By August 2016, the US FDA issued a report that the release of this genetically modified Aedes mosquito has no safety risks to people and the environment, but has repeatedly hesitated to approve the commercial application of the transgenic Aedes mosquito in the United States. It has even been suggested that the extinction of certain mosquitoes will lead to the extinction of other animals that feed on the mosquitoes, thus destroying the ecological balance? In addition, will the offspring of these GM mosquitoes break and disrupt their balance with the host's immune system due to genetic changes, indirectly triggering another irrelevant virus recovery and spread? This kind of questioning is clearly related to another level of concern about genetic engineering compared to the so-called "customized baby" ethics. I believe that other related issues will gradually emerge. In short, from the first "clone sheep" to the current "genetic scissors", the development of genetic engineering research is far beyond our imagination, but how it can be applied smoothly and widely into our lives is still worth pondering. The problem. Foam Fire Extinguisher,Foam Extinguisher,Foam Type Fire Extinguisher,Mechanical Foam Fire Extinguisher NINGBO TOMAN IMP. & EXP. 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Research progress on "genetic scissors"