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Sequenced Pig Genome Could Help Combat Human Diseases
An anonymous reader writes "Scientists announced Wednesday that they have mapped the entire genome of the domestic pig, revealing that besides providing tasty bacon and sausages, the animal may also be useful in fighting human diseases. The study published in the journal Nature found that pigs and humans share 112 DNA mutations that have previously been linked to diseases like obesity, diabetes, dyslexia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, according to US and European researchers. Researchers said that because pigs share many of the same complex genetic diseases as humans, the animals would serve as excellent models for studying the underlying biology of human disease."
Glad to see more work in this realm, as we already have seen a high organ compatibility with pigs it seems that we know a number of building blocks are already shared. With this kind of information we should be able to better isolate and (ethically) create both genetic changes and medicines to treat these diseases that would potentially hold a high efficacy in humans.
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Yet another reason to love the pig!
http://www.gibby.net.au
... Researchers would have finished the work sooner, but they were just so damned tasty.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
great! So you say there's nothing wrong in behaving like a pig..
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Surely Obesity in a pig is a good thing?
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions. We've kept pigs sheltered enough that they can experience the same problems as us, and suffer the same consequences. In a less safe environment, avoiding defects like obesity would be a much stronger selective pressure—but that's not a big deal in a pig pen.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
Wonder why ? Maybe us eating pigs for the last oh-how-many-hundred-years might have something to do with it ? Wouldn't it be easier to treat these diseases by not eating the pigs in the first place ..
You are what you eat. If we eat disease carrying pigs, we become those pigs. Have you seen some of the people who eat a lot of pig ? Their faces even start to resemble the animal.
How would you explain jewish and muslim people that are still obese/diabetic/etc even they didn't eat pig meat?
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions. We've kept pigs sheltered enough that they can experience the same problems as us, and suffer the same consequences.
Hang on, lady! Don't blame me!
Maybe others do, but I swear I don't let (other) pigs on my couch in my basement... is barely large enough for myself!
(grin)
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
I don't think genetics work the way you think they work. Eating something doesn't give you the traits of that something, contrary to the popular belief in certain tribes.
...do you diagnose dyslexia in pigs?
They make a weird "knoi-knoi" sound.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
Well, actually.. looky here.
which is totally what she said
...do you diagnose dyslexia in pigs?
They make a weird "knoi-knoi" sound.
Telling "knoi-knoi" jokes?
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions. We've kept pigs sheltered enough that they can experience the same problems as us, and suffer the same consequences.
Hang on, lady! Don't blame me!
Maybe others do, but I swear I don't let (other) pigs on my couch in my basement... is barely large enough for myself!
(grin)
It sleeps on the floor and eats French toast. What could go wrong?
Pig pens today are not what you'd like to imagine they are. Go watch a video on youtube for a dose of reality.
You peeg!
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions. We've kept pigs sheltered enough that they can experience the same problems as us, and suffer the same consequences.
Hang on, lady! Don't blame me! Maybe others do, but I swear I don't let (other) pigs on my couch in my basement... is barely large enough for myself!
(grin)
It sleeps on the floor and eats French toast.
Naaah... can't do. Too many empty beer bottles on the floor (belches)
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
Woah... so although you don't actually "take" part of the rice's genetic code as yours, eating rice may alter the way genes activate ... in a way that makes you get an extra dose of "bad" cholesterol. I suppose it's good that I don't eat too much rice, then.
Yep and perhaps if we eat the same foods as another species, we're more likely to develop similar problems.. I don't know. It seems a very immature field of study, but it certainly is interesting :)
They eat a lot of rice in Japan and that's one of the countries with the longest average life spans, so I don't know if the issue is all that simple. They do tend to eat smaller portions over there though. Personally I'm quite happy to go on eating rice for the moment.
which is totally what she said
we need better sausages! Use the knowledge about pig DNA to improve the flavour of bratwurst...
We'll be able to breed cows that give bacon. ...I wonder if someone following a kosher diet could eat that...
Cool. So pigs will be the petri dishes to test new medical treatments. This will end well.
You can take this insulin (made from pigs), or you can die of diabetes.
Evolution in action.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Your attempt at humour was a bit of a boar.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Obviously, you start by teaching them to read.
It's tiring doing all the thinking sometimes.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
How many genes did they find in common with middle management? Can they cure that?
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
No matter how unhealthy it is, factory farming doesn't involve predators, running, or starvation. Moreover, that's way too recent of a change for it to have an appreciable impact on the course of evolution.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
Well if you want people to eat less pork I have a Modest Proposal that I think may interest you...
Will it help us design better human centipedes?
Just this infinitely recurring zero floats into view.
The usual 'animals are toys for humans to do what they wish with' banter from the emotionally immature Slashdot crowd. Do animals feel pain? Why is your life worth more than a pig's?
My life is worth more than a pig's because I am not a pig.
How embarrassing for all of you, not an ounce of compassion between you. Vivisection is medical fraud.
We could use dogs, which as I understand it lead to modern organ transplants in humans. I suppose you'd prefer we had no such thing as organ transplants or that the experimentation was done on humans?
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Demikhov
Sounds like a step towards a real-life Eierlegende Wollmilchsau, the ultimate all-purpose farm animal!
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last
Apart from the genetic advance, anything which improves an already tasty animal is welcome.
So that's why pigs are fat, its a genetic disorder.
Does this research also mean they could make people taste like bacon?
If that thing hadn't gone extinct, we might have identified the gene for being radiant by comparison. Wilbur remains a mystery.
(cue drumroll)
The Homosexuality Gene?
Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions.
Well that's a fair argument.
Human conditions have LOTS in common with modern pig-farming.
- High-Density living
- insufficient fresh-air and sunshine
- insufficient exercise
- fast food
- excessive amounts of food
- complete lack of varied diet
- high-stress
- excessive use of antibiotics
Sure some of us don't spend our days up to our elbows in shit, but that's ONLY SOME OF US.
Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
You're missing a few, which are more important to evolution:
- lack of natural predators
- low diversity in diseases
- abundantly available shelter
- no physical fitness required to obtain food
This basically amounts to little or no evolutionary pressure. As with any organism, their chromosomes are free to mutate and diversify as long as it doesn't get them killed, and there's a lot more leeway for livestock than wild animals.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
EEEVA! Don't Understand? RTFA. Or, well, look at the images anyway. Still don't get it? Watch WALL-E.