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Gene edited sex selection may spare animal suffering

Published : Monday, 6 December, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 635

LONDON, Dec 5: Scientists have used gene editing technology to create female-only and male-only litters of mice. Their technique could prevent the destruction of hundreds of thousands of unwanted mice used in research.
The team says it could also prevent the slaughter of millions of male chickens in the UK, which are culled because they don't lay eggs. The government is considering allowing gene editing to be used by the livestock industry in England. The technique, which has been outlined in the academic journal Nature Communications, deactivates a gene involved with embryo development.
The system can be programmed to kick in for either male or female embryos at a very early stage of development - of between 16 and 32 cells. The researchers believe that the technique could work on farm animals and they are in discussions to set up scientific pilot studies with the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, which is among the world leaders in gene editing of livestock.
Dr Peter Ellis of Kent University told BBC News that if the results do translate from the lab to commercial use, they could have a "far reaching" impact on animal welfare. "Between four and six billion chicks in the poultry industry are killed each year worldwide. In principle, we could set up a system so that instead of having chicks having to be killed after birth when they have a nervous system and potentially capable of suffering, those eggs are laid but simply never hatch," he said.    -BBC






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