6 post-sheep cloning Dolly

In July 1996, the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland, produced Dolly sheep, the first mammal to be cloned.

Twenty years on, science has achieved many other brilliant achievements, such as the typical inventions below.

Sheep cloned Dolly and Sir Ian Wilmut, who gave birth to this unique product.

1. Create transgenic mosquitoes

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria is a global disease, but recently the diseases caused by mosquitoes are tending to increase sharply, including dengue hemorrhagic fever, Zika virus . .

In 2013 alone, malaria increased by 198 million cases. Although there are some vaccines, it seems that diseases from mosquitoes still do not decrease. And yet, the malaria-causing parasite quickly became resistant to the disease, so it made the disease worse.

To help humanity reduce malaria, the US University of California (UOC) has recently tested, introducing mosquitoes that transfer Anopheles genes , preventing them from being infected with malaria parasites, so they cannot transmit disease to humans.

Transgenic mosquitoes.

By adding an antibody gene fragment into the DNA of Anopheles mosquitoes, or "modifying" a gene segment under CRISPR technology, mosquitoes can produce antibodies against malaria parasites, which should be eliminated. sick.

In addition, this gene fragment also causes mosquitoes to fluoresce red, especially eyes, to help distinguish ordinary mosquitoes from transgenic mosquitoes. The mutant gene has a genetic ratio of 99.5%, and in the future, all the descendants of mosquitoes will no longer be a threat to humans. This is really a big breakthrough in the fight against malaria as well as the diseases caused by mosquitoes.

2. Artificial life

According to Listverse, after 15 years of persistent research, PhD, billionaire Craig Venter, a pioneer in genetics has touched his dream, creating artificial life. His invention was controversial shortly after it was published in Science in 2010. The article describes in detail how Craig Venter and his colleagues successfully developed "a new form of synthetic life entirely from scratch." chemical compound. "

According to Craig Venter, this process is quite simple, through the genetic code mechanism of Mycoplasma genitalium bacteria (the smallest bacteria in the world) and then saved to the computer. The aggregated data continues to be used to "reproduce artificial DNA in the laboratory".

In order to distinguish the DNA from the original DNA, the subject group modified the DNA with a watermark. Finally, remove all the original DNA, then replace it with an artificial copy. The result, creating an artificial cell capable of regeneration.

Artificial life.

This invention is very significant in the process of reproduction or reproduction to create life. Craig Venter hopes, with research results, will pave the way for the development of complex artificial organisms, capable of absorbing pollution, turning waste into fuel, and applying in vaccination to fight disease. disability.

However, the invention of Craig Venter was also criticized by "tantalizing God", abetting terrorism, especially biological warfare against humanity.

3. Editing human genes

Until now, genetic editing was restricted to animals and plants, but now has been " covered, aimed directly at people". This happened after the Artificial insemination and embryo (HFEA) allowed Kathy Niakan, a researcher at the Francis Crick Institute in London, to edit embryos for scientific purposes.

Technology Kathy Niakan and other geneticists used are called CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats, roughly translated: frequent repetitions of short distances). It allows scientists to identify certain genes, discard, and then rewrite DNA.

Editing human genes.

CRISPR is not new, it has been used to modify dog ​​genes so that they can be enlarged or applied in pigs to make them smaller, creating ornamental pigs according to human intent.

Although CRISPR is controversial, genetic modification in humans has a noble purpose, to eliminate some incurable diseases such as cancer, miscarriage, and improve birth rates. However, genetic editing also contains "moral issues and risks".

In particular, the genetic editing process can create disadvantages transmitted from one generation to the next. Or even errors in the editing process need to have enough time to verify. One of the most controversial aspects of genetic editing is the opening of the door, creating the "pre-designed baby" , which supports the eugenics theory that long ago many aspiring people soon became a reality.

4. Born human animal hybrid parts

It must be said immediately that donor implants are currently in serious shortage. In the US alone, 22 people die every day due to waiting for an organ transplant. With such urgency, many scientists have entered and researched to find solutions to overcome, including the controversial initiative "cultivating" human organs inside the animal body.

This is not science fiction or fantasy, but very realistic, medically inspired by monsters in Greek mythology, a solid part, a lion part, and a part of goats.

Hybrid between humans and animals.

The process of creating hybrids named Chimeras is quite simple. Scientists will remove part of the animal's DNA, such as a part of the pancreas's coding part. Then, inject human stem cells into animal embryos. Once in place in the embryo, stem cells will further develop the missing parts of the DNA. Because embryos do not have an immune system, human stem cells will not be eliminated.

Although this project has great potential, saving thousands of lives every year, it is heavily criticized, especially from the Christian Church, which considers it a source of trouble. , because stem cells create a human brain inside the host. What if the hybrid between humans and animals becomes a reality, especially when it is possible to think like humans?

5. Birth of artificial sperm

Infertility is a global sensitive issue, although it is faulty in both, but biased towards men. Male infertility occurs when the germ cells in the testicle cannot undergo cell division, the specialty known as mitosis is reduced or reduced (meiosis).

When fecal reduction does not occur, germ cells that cannot transform into sperm cells are fully functional. Currently, the only solution to this problem is to use donated sperm. However, there is still hope for infertile men to use artificial cells.

Artificial sperm.

Chinese scientists have recently published research, creating artificial semen in the laboratory. Start by extracting embryonic stem cells (these embryonic stem cells can become all kinds of cells) from mice and then come into contact with a variety of different chemicals.

As a result, creating primitive stem cells, then, these germ cells are exposed to sex hormones and testicular cells. After a while, germ cells transformed into fully functional sperm cells, continuing to inject into human mice and eventually mice gave birth to healthy baby mice.

Researchers are planning further experiments on primates, if good results will go into human trials. Although controversial, the method of creating artificial sperm is feasible, allowing infertile men to be fathers, giving birth to healthy children.

6. Revive the dead brain

Reviving the dead seems like fiction and impossible, it only exists in spiritual or supernatural stories. But now, an American company called BioQuark is now embarking on this work. BioQuark was licensed from the US government's Basic Appraisal Committee (UIRB) to "start up" a controversial project.

UIRB's start-up phase was named ReAnima, which involved identifying 20 Indians who were declared clinically dead. However, it should be noted that BioQuark only conducts experiments on people who are brain dead.