By Michelle RobertsHealth editor, BBC News online
A gene-editing method could one day make pig organs suitable for use in people, scientists say.
Prof George Church and colleagues used a technique called Crispr to alter the DNA of pig cells to create a better match for humans.
The early work, in the journal Science, aims to address concerns about rejection and infection by viruses embedded in pig DNA.
If successful, it could be an answer to the shortage of human donor organs.
Years more research is needed before genetically modified pigs could be bred to grow organs for people.
Gene editing
Crispr is a relatively new scientific tool that lets scientists snip and play around with the code of life - DNA.
Prof Church, from Harvard University, used it to inactivate a retrovirus present in the pig cell line.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!