This Week in Sci-Tech
Embryo editing questioned
In an unexpected - and potentially
unwelcome - world first, Chinese researchers have tweaked
the genomes of human
embryos.
The new
research, published in Protein and Cell,
shows that editing of DNA in embryos is possible, but that
many hurdles must be overcome before the technology can
realistically be used in medical applications.
The experiments also raise myriad ethical questions about how such research should be approached.
Nature News broke the story this week, reporting:
"The results are published in the online journal Protein & Cell and confirm widespread rumours that such experiments had been conducted — rumours that sparked a high-profile debate last month about the ethical implications of such work.
"In the paper, researchers led by Junjiu Huang, a gene-function researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, tried to head off such concerns by using ‘non-viable’ embryos, which cannot result in a live birth, that were obtained from local fertility clinics.
"The team attempted to modify the gene responsible for beta-thalassaemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder, using a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR/Cas9. The researchers say that their results reveal serious obstacles to using the method in medical applications."
The ethical and safety implications were highlighted last month when several academics published a commentary article inNature, calling for a moratorium on genome editing techniques in human embryos.
"In our view, genome editing in human embryos using current technologies could have unpredictable effects on future generations." they wrote.
"This makes it dangerous and ethically unacceptable. Such research could be exploited for non-therapeutic modifications."
However in the wake of the Chinese study, some researchers, such as Prof Robin Lovell-Badge of the Crick Institute, have been more positive.
“I disagree with a moratorium, which is in any case unlikely to work well," Prof Lovell-Badge told the UK SMC.
"Indeed I am fully supportive of research being carried out on early human embryos in vitro, especially on embryos that are not required for reproduction and would otherwise be discarded. If the techniques work, there are many interesting questions that could be asked about the role of specific genes in early human embryo development."
You can read further, extensive commentary from a range of experts on the Science Media Centre website.
Vets call for cat strategy
Should cats be registered like
dogs? Microchipped? Kept
indoors?
The New Zealand
Veterinary Association (NZVA) this week released a commissioned
reportexamining options for managing our
domestic and feral cats.
NZVA President Stephen Merchant acknowledged that there were some initiatives already underway, but said that more work is needed to manage cat populations in New Zealand.
“A major obstacle to progress is that no single organisation is responsible for cats in New Zealand and there is little regulation to control the cat population," he said.
"The NZVA strongly believes that as a society we need to engage on a national, regional and local level. The first step must be an informed dialogue and willingness to explore solutions based on robust evidence.”
The review, undertaken by Unitec Senior Lecturer Mark Farnworth, bases its recommendations, such as stricter regulation, neutering and micro-chipping, on existing research from both New Zealand and overseas.
Dr Heidy Kikillus, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Victoria University Wellington, agreed the need for a broader approach.
“While the coordination of a national management strategy will be incredibly complicated," she told the SMC, "it would be a step forward in managing cats in New Zealand and better balancing cats and conservation.”
Dr Kikillus also noted that many New Zealanders support cat control initiatives, citing preliminary results from her CatTracker attitudes survey:
• 88% of survey respondents feel
that desexing cats should be mandatory (with some exceptions
for registered breeders)
•
• 70% of respondents
feel that microchipping should be
mandatory
•
• Almost 50% support a night-time
curfew for cats
•
• 80% support a limit on the
number of cats per property (most common suggestion = 3
maximum)
•
Read more on the Science Media Centre
website.
Blowing stuff up for science
Nigel Latta's new TV show rates its socks
off by taking a Mythbusters-style approach to
science-related
questions.
Nigel Latta
Blows Stuff Up debuted on Sunday with a flurry of slow-mo
camera shots and shocking experiments as the psychologist
turned TV celebrity explained lightning and the impact of
being hit by a lightning bolt.
The half hour show, made with the help of NZ on Air, was the 3rd most popular programme to appear on Sunday night, drawing an audience of 485,403 - nearly 200,000 more people than watched 3 News that night.
A Herald review described the show as “educational broccoli hidden in a deliciously entertaining tart”.
SMC Manager Peter Griffin agrees. In this Sciblogs piece he writes that Latta is a "great talent" with a "science background [that] gives him an appreciation for evidence and the process of science".
It seems to make for strong science communication and Latta has been on a campaign to raise the profile of science. The day after the show aired he tweeted:
"When we celebrate our scientists like we do our sports heroes then we'll really build a better world."
Another recent documentary he fronted saw him experience firsthand the scientific research underway in Antarctica. Reflecting on that trip, he told TV Guide:
"John Key wants some great big polls about changing the flag, well – hoorah… Let's take that money and put it into three or four more science projects down in the Antarctic. That will actually be useful to us."
Latta has played an increasingly prominent role in popularising science. But is he in danger of becoming the ubiquitous, go-to TV science guy and does it matter if he does?
Writes Griffin: "Latta is a great talent, no doubt, but I can think of half a dozen scientists who would have been equally great fronting that show and would definitely not have fallen into 'dowdy old expert' territory".
"We need a diversity of science communicators who can appeal to broad audiences. My sense is that we have them, but that they need our support to break through and ultimately make the short list when production companies run down their list of potential hosts."
Read more on Sciblogs.
Quoted: Dominion Post
"It's effectively like a very hi-tech portaloo
for scanning."
Robert Slade from the Robinson Research Institute describes their newly developed portable MRI machine.
Policy news &
developments
Maui evaluation: The Environmental Protection Authority has released its evaluation report on a new marine consent application for Māui offshore drilling facilities.
NZ China links: Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce has announced three new joint research projects between the NZ and China.
Biosecurity revamp: MPI has launched its Biosecurity 2025project, aiming to strengthen and future-proof New Zealand’s biosecurity system.
Tobacco consultation: The Ministry of Health is seeking public feedback on an international agreement targeting illicit trade in tobacco products.
New from
Sciblogs
Some of the highlights from this week's Sciblogs posts:
How to make a Mammoth - Peter
Dearden looks at bringing the woolly mammoth back from the
dead.
Genetics Otago
Catching oil in a net with
nanotechnology - Michelle Dickinson highlights
technology that could helps us get the drop on oil
spills.
Nanogirl
Kumara are transgenic - The
discovery of bacterial DNA in our beloved kumara gets Grant
Jacobs asking the tough question about what is and isn't
transgenic.
Code for Life
Upcoming
events
Please see the SMC Events Calendar for more events and details.
• A Moving landscape of wildlife
genetics - 24 April, Dunedin; 28 April,
Palmerston North; 29 April, Tauranga; 30 April, Auckland.
Stephen O'Brien (St Petersburg State University) discusses
how modern genetics informs our understanding of wildlife
conservation.
•
• Mission Impossible? - Returning
the Mauri of the Ecosystem to its pre-Rena State - 29 April,
Auckland. Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Horizons of Insight
Seminar, presented by Dr Kepa
Morgan.
•
• From the Mouse to the Smartphone and Beyond:
tracing the development of human-computer
interaction - 30 April, Auckland. Gibbons
Lecture from Prof Mark Apperley (The University of
Waikato).
•
• TEDx Auckland - 2 May,
Auckland. Inspiring stories and ideas worth talking
about.
•
• Climate Change in the 21st Century: Food,
Health, Politics and Socio-Economics –2 May,
Auckland. One-day series of talks as part of the University
of Auckland’s ‘Great Minds and Big Ideas’ seminar
series
ends