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Chinese Scientists Create Genetically Modified Low-Fat Pigs (npr.org)
Chinese scientists have created low-fat pigs using new genetic engineering techniques. "In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists report that they have created 12 healthy pigs with about 24 percent less body fat than normal pigs," reports NPR. From the report: The scientists created low-fat pigs in the hopes of providing pig farmers with animals that would be less expensive to raise and would suffer less in cold weather. The animals have less body fat because they have a gene that allows them to regulate their body temperatures better by burning fat. That could save farmers millions of dollars in heating and feeding costs, as well as prevent millions of piglets from suffering and dying in cold weather. The Chinese scientists created the animals using a new gene-editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9. It enables scientists to make changes in DNA much more easily and precisely than ever before. Pigs lack a gene, called UPC1, which most other mammals have. The gene helps animals regulate their body temperatures in cold temperatures. The scientists edited a mouse version of the gene into pig cells. They then used those cells to create more than 2,553 cloned pig embryos. Next, scientists implanted the genetically modified cloned pig embryos into 13 female pigs. Three of the female surrogate mother pigs became pregnant, producing 12 male piglets, the researchers report.
Chinese Scientists Create Less Tasty Pigs
Chinese Scientists Create Genetically Modified Low-Fat Pigs
But what are they for?
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
And where can I get one?
Baconless pig is for millenials.
I want one of the following predicted genetic modifications for pigs: 1. Create bacon that has omega-3 fatty acids so that it's actually good for you. 2. Modify the pigs to chew their cud so that the meat will be kosher.
Fat is an insulator, what polar bears and arctic seals have.
Don't they mean suffer in HOT weather?
They then used those cells to create more than 2,553 cloned pig embryos. Next, scientists implanted the genetically modified cloned pig embryos into 13 female pigs.
That's a lot (196) of embryos per pig. The female pigs would have exploded if the embryos had all been viable.
At least the piglets look cute.
The animals were slaughtered when they were six months old so scientists could analyze their bodies.
Oh damn, that was harsh.
Let the bacon jokes begin...
https://xkcd.com/1904/
I want to taste the bacon first!!!!!
I'd be interested to know if the modification turned out to be heritable. Otherwise that could be a really expensive pig to cultivate.
Oy vey! It's anudda Shoah, I tells ya! Anudda Shoah!
Chinese find a way to leave you feeling even hungrier after eating Chinese food. News at 11:00.
for law enforcement.
prevent millions of piglets from suffering and dying in cold weather
Yeah, suffering in a factory farm and dying at the hands of hungry Chinese at 1 year old is so much better.
A gene that gives the lower-fat pigs more flavor, otherwise, I don't see how this is an improvement over white-meat chicken.
I would sit and regulate the shit out of this fat belly.
Pigs that grow wool
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I used to go hunting a lot. Feral pigs (or boars) are super aggressive and destroy the area they are in. You need a reasonably large caliber rifle to kill them, they breed like crazy and are full of worms so you can't eat them. They will attack humans, are smarter than a dog and boars can grow pretty big - you would not want to mess with one unless you had a weapon.
*Anything* that can potentially get into the wild, like a genetically engineered pig that can survive cold, is a really, really bad idea. Expect at least one of these pigs to escape and breed in the wild.
This is an extremely short sighted endeavor.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Israeli Scientists Create Genetically Modified Kosher Pigs
I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
Zombie pig apocalypse!!!1!
I, for one, welcome our new In-pig-men Overlords, and wish someone had realized how close the pig genome was to humans before we were replaced, once they learned how to code telepathically our robot slaves.
All hail the Porkamon Empire!
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
OK, I am going to invent dehydrated water. Top that Chinese scientists.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Something I noticed - pork in my birth country, Australia, is already low fat, due to selective breeding. Here in Asia it is very fatty - people seem to prefer that.
If it acquires resources on instantiation like a duck, then its a shared_ptr<Duck>
what could possibly go wrong!
Mmmm long-pig....
They bought a bigger exercise pen for the pigs.
...engineer pigs which have the taste and texture of vegetables?
Requiem for the American Dream
Not long now until muscle bound pigs escaping and rapidly evolving to feed on humans.
I have a mutation in UCP1 that keeps my metabolism full on all the time. During winter I'm stared at because I'm dressed comfortably for summer. It's changed my life - I sweat heavily when dressed normally indoors, and if I wear shorts and singlet people think I'm gay. It also gives me a permanent crease down the middle of my upper back - my son's gf called it "reverse cleavage". The more I eat, the hotter I get, but I can't get fat.
Didn't they learn anything from watching how this ends in too many sci-fi movies? https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Less fat?!?!? These so-called scientists need to wake up. We've been brainwashed for over 30 years to avoid fat. How well has that worked? We're fatter than ever. Meanwhile, over 30 years ago a quiet voice in the void said we should avoid carbohydrates and eat much more fat. More than 30 million people listened to Dr. Atkins and those scientists who followed him and they are healthier than ever. Scientists have confirmed the less carbs / more fat plan but government and commercial interests are still pushing the low fat dogma.
It's not just your body that suffers from starchy foods, you are 40% more likely to develop dementia. Eat more fat, less carbs!
...omphaloskepsis often...
...women. And they still insist on talking ! OhMEOhmY what has modern science wrought ?
Pigs.. low-fat... CRISPR-Cas9...
Are they making low-fat, crisper bacon?
#DeleteFacebook
Less fat stored from a single gene change? More fat burned when it's cold?
Sign me up and if anyone needs me I'll be in the outdoor swimming pool.
It's sugar.
I'd settle for the Chinese scientists fixing their pigs so that they weren't generating new flu strains to export to the rest of the world. Pigs and humans are close physiologically, close enough where flu viruses jump. One of the big flu generating areas is southern China where farmers apparently get a bit to comfy with their livestock.
Why mess with it? Saturated fat is good for you as it is.
What you want to be creating is genetically modified low-fat Americans.
Medieval Northern Europeans had to deal with plenty of cold pigs, so they built two story houses and put the pigs on the first floor. Both pigs and people stayed nice and warm.
I, for one, welcome our new low-fat pigs overlords!
I already saw this one and I swear, Tilda Swinton's acting gets better every year.
"Without the grease all you can taste is the hog anus"
~ Homer Simpson
Now find the gene that makes humans less fatty and sell it to trump. $$$$$$$
Right? Pigs that go wild are supposedly destroying land and pushing out native wildlife all over the US. Do we need to make them even more resilient (to weather)?
We have lean pigs everywhere in Texas. They're incredibly destructive to our lands. Please come kill them and take them. Even with the number of hunters and trappers we have, they still breed faster than we can keep up with.
...don't modify the pigs. MODIFY ME! Leave the pigs nice and tasty and make me burn more fat!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Casteism
just don't put them through extensive feeding but let them grow up slowly.