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This Week in Sci-Tech

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."

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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

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