This weeks stories:
- CRISPR technology to be used in human trials for the first time in the US.
- Peppered moth caterpillars can sense the color of their surroundings with their skin. I know the article explains that the caterpillars' eyes were painted over, but I still have the mental image of some poor undergrad student tying hundreds of tiny blindfolds. Research is great.
- Very interesting article about CTVT, a transmissible cancer of dogs.
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This week I immediately knew which article I was choosing as soon as I saw the word CRISPR. In honors biology, for our biotechnology presentation, my group focused on designer babies, babies who are genetically engineered to have desired traits. I convinced my group to choose this topic because genetically engineering humans is controversial (for good reason), yet no one can deny the possible benefits it implies. To manufacture these novelty babies scientists would combine the sperm and egg in a test tube and insert the CRISPR technology at an early stage in the zygote’s development so that when the cell divides, the alterations of the DNA are inherited. This is called germline engineering and is done with CRISPR-CAS9, a fast, efficient, and relatively new genome editing technology. Around a year ago a Chinese scientist Jiankui used it edit the genome of two twin babies. However, Jiankui violated the laws banning gene editing and forged volunteer documents for the mother of the twins, resulting in his punishment by the Chinese government. Germline engineering, as opposed to the somatic cell engineering discussed in the article, is risky business because the gene modifications can be passed down to offspring, hence the name “germline”. The spreading of DNA alterations can negatively impact human evolution, and create a gap between the poor and the rich, as only the wealthy could afford to customize their children.
On the other hand, the changes made with somatic cell engineering can not be inherited, hence why the engineering of eye cells is now being tested in the United States. If this CRISPR treatment of blindness is a success, people should rejoice around the world. With CRISPR technology all genetic diseases have a chance of being cured. Even babies born with sickle cell anemia or down's syndrome could be cured with a simple injection of CRISPR. This article about the first test of CRISPR on the human body is great news as it means scientists are one step closer to curing cancer and other diseases caused by mutations. Nevertheless, gene-editing technology should be used with caution to avoid designer babies and clones from becoming reality.
For this week’s assignment, I read the article “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For The First Time in Treatment for Blindness.” The article’s title itself is a groundbreaker; CRISPR, is a defense mechanism used by bacteria and archaea, to defend themselves against bacteriophages. These bacteriophages are viruses that attack bacteria. Viruses use the host cell to duplicate themselves. Now, humans are being able to use the technique to cure a mutation in a gene that affects the retina, and how it works. This is the place in which light-sensitive cells work together to form your vision. CRISPR is to be used to fix the mutation, which in turn will fix blindness. This defense system originally found in bacteria and archaea can now help treat the tens of millions of humans around the globe who suffer from blindness, and possibly hundreds of millions that are visually-impaired. According to Editas Medicine, the method that scientists will follow is to inject the treatment directly into those cells. As of now, we know that the initial trial will be conducted on 18 individuals, both children and adults. If this trial is a success, then medicine will be more advanced than ever; treating blindness has been nearly impossible so far, and this will be one of the best breakthroughs ever known to mankind.
For this week I read all three articles. While all three articles were very intriguing my personal favorite was the one regarding CRISPR technology. Rachael Rettner discusses how a team of scientists will be using this gene-editing technology to treat an eye disorder that can result in blindness and is inherited. Those that are victim to this condition have a mutation in their gene that affects the function of the cell in the back portion of the eye that is crucial to proper vision. This condition is common, causing childhood blindness affecting 2 to 3 newborns out of every 100,000, the article explains. This treatment is said to fix this mutation with the help of CRISPR, as researches are able to very specifically edit the DNA in certain locations. An injection will directly deliver the treatment to the sensitive cells. 18 children and adults of ages 3 and up will be tested on. However, this experiment is different compared to that done by a Chinese scientist who used CRISPR to edit the genomes of twin babies. That scientist modified the DNA of the embryos causing them to be passed down to future generations. On the other hand, mutations made in the children and adults being tested cannot be passed down to future generations. This is a wonderful advancement in science, that must be moderated as well. Scientists must insure that this technology is strictly used only to solve medical complications and diseases. If misused, then it is possible that the concept of “designer babies” becomes a common theme. If not regulated then parents may CRISPR technology to change specific features. On the other side of the spectrum, this new advancement can cure numerous diseases including blindness. There will alway be numerous potential risks to new discoveries in the medical field. If successful, this discovery could solve numerous diseases and medical issues improving the quality of life for thousands of people.
For this week, I decided to read the article regarding CRISPR by livescience.com. I instantly remembered my biology teacher talking about CRISPR during the genetic unit and how it may affect upcoming generations. We discussed how future parents may "customize" their offspring to their desired traits. As the class deemed that unethical, we furthered our discussion by theorizing the benefits of CRISPR's gene editing capabilities. We concluded that CRISPR may be able to cure or get rid of certain medical conditions and/or diseases that stem from one's DNA. The article jumps to that particular point, where they are using CRISPR on 18 individuals (consisting of both children and adults) with Leber congenital amaurosis. They soon compared this experiment to one done by the Chinese. This experiment also popped up in our gene therapy discussion during biology back then. The controversy here is that any gene edits the Chinese scientists did with the embryo would be able to be passed down to their offspring. This new experiment the article is talking about states that this would not be the case. After reading the article, I jumped to the first related article talking about other things scientists were able to do with CRISPR. They mention the possibility of reversing or slowing the growth of tumors by injecting cells with gene modifications. These cells would disable the production of a protein that cancer cells would take control over. This would then let the immune system to do its job and fight the cancer cells. They also talk about CRISPR modified cells attacking HIV cells and not allowing them to replicate and duplicate. The versatility of CRISPR is very promising in regards to curing the uncurable. but I fell that this may result in a shift in society in that people can change anything about themselves or others through gene therapy. The ethics regarding CRISPR is still up in the air, and I feel the scientific community and society as a whole would not be ready for such a thing for a long time.
From all three articles I was most interested in “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” CRISPR is a gene-editing technology that can treat people with blindness. In the article it states, “The study plans to use CRISPR to treat an inherited eye disorder that causes blindness, according to the Associated Press.” If many people who are born blind can be cured with this CRISPR gene editing, a lot of people won’t have such a difficult time in doing day to day things. Eyesight is one of the five important senses that humans have, and if we can cure one sense in this generation, a lot of things can change. Blindness is caused by a mutation in a gene which leaves the retina functioning improperly. The retina is at the back of the eye, and is very important to have, to see things properly. Without a healthy functioning retina, things can’t be seen properly. As stated in the article, “People with this condition have a mutation in a gene that affects the function of the retina, the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye that are essential for normal vision.” Based on the National Institutes of Health, blindness is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis. It is one of the most common causes of why children are born blind. It “affects about 2 to 3 newborns out of every 100,000…” CRISPR can let researchers make changes to a DNA in a particular area. In order to do this, an injection will be injected into the person to treat the light-sensitive cells. There will be a trial on 18 patients. There will be a trial ranging from children of age 3 to adults. It’s pretty interesting to see how advanced our technology is now, that we can even cure problems that we are born with.
The article that caught my attention this week was “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” by Rachael Rettner. This article caught my attention because the technology CRISPR was briefly touched on in my recent biology class, and it interested me. It fascinated me that there is actually technology that can genetically engineer DNA. CRISPR is a genetic engineering technique in which scientists an edit DNA by cutting out a segment of DNA and replacing it with new and healthier DNA. CRISPR is a combination of Cas9 and a guide RNA molecule. It is faster, cheaper, more accurate, more efficient. Bacteria captures snippets of DNA as CRISPR arrays. Then, a small piece of RNA with a short guide sequence binds to a specific target sequence of DNA. RNA also binds to the Cas9. The modified RNA is used to recognize the DNA sequence that is to be replaced. The protein Cas9 uses DNA and RNA base pairing to target the DNA. Cas9 cuts the portion it wants to modify. Cas9 inputs the new DNA which codes for the desired traits or proteins. Ribosome transcribes the new and improved DNA into proteins that can give desirable traits during translation. Currently, scientists can use CRISPR on an embryo created by in vitro fertilization. They also may be able to rid the child of certain diseases by changing the DNA early on, as it is more difficult to use CRISPR when the organism is grown. It is especially interesting that now CRISPR can be used to cure the rare form of blindness, Leber congenital amaurosis, which affects 2 to 3 newborns out of every 100,000 newborns. This condition is caused by a mutation in a gene that affects the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye (retina), which are essential for regular vision. In order to test the study, a trial will enroll 18 patients, children and adults, in which researchers will use an injection that directly treats the light-sensitive cells. Unfortunately, the work that the CRISPR gene does in these children and adults, cannot be passed down to their offspring. In all, I’m very eager to find out if the CRISPR gene can solve this groundbreaking issue that affects many.
This week I decided to read the article, “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness.” I found this article to be interesting because ever since CRISPR was used on embryos in China, there has been a high amount of controversy surrounding the idea of genetic editing. However, the United States has addressed this controversy by claiming that the altered genes will not be able to be passed on to the test subjects’ offspring since the test subjects are no longer embryos. They will test CRISPR by attempting to cure a form of blindness, which will be done by sending the treatment directly to the retina. These experiments will be performed on children above the age of three as well as adults, which I do not agree with as I feel that this should not be used on children, especially those under the age of ten. There are only eighteen subjects in the experiments, but this range of ages is still extremely wide. However, I do feel that the use of CRISPR as a whole has more benefits than it does downfalls and that the fact that the United States is beginning to conduct human trials is a step forward. In conclusion, the beginning of the use of CRISPR on humans in the United States is a major decision, and one that I believe to be beneficial.
I’d never thought of the possibility of cancer being contagious, but as explained in the article, “CTVT, the Tumor That Broke All the Rules”, canine transmissible venereal tumor defies that idea, among many others. CTVT is a unique tumor which behaves not simply as a cancer cell, but as a parasite, moving from host to host. The CTVT tumor consists of a mass of cancer cells, which accumulate on the genitals of dogs. Like most cancer cells, CTVT cells can invade healthy tissues within the host, causing the cancer to metastasize. However, what makes CTVT cells unique is their ability to move between different host cells, and begin new tumors. When a dog which bears a tumor mates with another dog, cancer cells can mass from one mate to another. The CTVT cells will begin a new tumor on the genitals of the new host. In this way, CTVT behaves almost like a parasite, moving from host to host to survive. However, once within a new host, the CTVT cells will divide and form a tumor, before possibly becoming metastatic, just as in other non-contagious cancers. Beyond the ability of CTVT to infect new hosts, I found it interesting how the researchers were able to map the spread of the cancer. The mutations which cancer cells accumulate as they inherit them from their parents, and develop new ones, can be used to track the lineage and spread of cancer cells. By tracking specific lines and patterns of mutations amongst CTVT cells, researchers were able to trace the cancer back to a host which lived somewhere in Central Asia. The cancer has taken multiple routes since then, moving across Asia and Europe, into the Americas, and back again. The article also states that researchers were able to trace certain mutations to environmental markers, such as specific lines of mutations being signs of sun damage. In regions in which sunlight is more intense, these mutations were more common in the CTVT genome. Using such markers, researchers were able to determine the specific latitudes which the cancer had traveled. Additional unique characteristics of CTVT include its unusually stable genome, as well as a reluctance to evolve adaptations to the immune system of hosts and treatments. As CTVT cells develop mutations and divide, they risk damaging those genes that they need to survive. Due to the nature of asexual reproduction, it will be more difficult for nature to weed out these harmful mutations, and they will proliferate, weakening the tumor. Whatever the future which awaits CTVT, the life of this unique tumor is an interesting story of evolution and migration, which should continue to be studied and preserved.
The article that caught my eye was, “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity”. It was about an organism that was not quite cancer called CTVT. It is an STD that grows only on dogs and can spread to other dogs. It is a tumor that grows slower than cancer and is curable with chemotherapy. It comes from China about 6,000 years ago. This “cancer” has shown scientists that cancer can evolve over time to become weaker and can be tamed. Some researchers are now looking for ways to tame cancer as its own organism, instead of looking for more cures that kill cancer cells. CTVT encouraged scientists to look at cancer in a different way to find a different method of stopped it from hurting the human body.
This week I read “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” by Rachael Rettner. Visually impaired beings have a mutation in their gene that affects the behavior of the retina. This illness is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis, one of the reasons for childhood blindness that afflicts nearly 2 to 3 per 100,000 newborns. According to the Associated Press, CRISPR can be used to operate an inherited eye disorder that causes loss of vision. CRISPR corrects the mutation specifically, altering the DNA in a particular spot through injection carried straight to the light-sensitive cells. Overall, CRISPR is used to snip out and substitute unwanted DNA to promote treatments for blindness. In a new study, a Chinese scientist edits the DNA of embryos in twin babies prompting them to be passed down to coming generations. However, the DNA edits in children and grown-ups can not be passed down to their offspring. Scientists can use CRISPR to comprehend the biology of chromosomes and how errors correlated with them may contribute to cancer. In conclusion, CRISPR is a device that could lead to treating and preventing diseases.
The article I chose was “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” because I have prior knowledge on this topic, and I am curious to learn more about what this technology can do. CRISPR technology is used to make germline edits which creates genetic modifications in the human embryos or in reproductive cells. CRISPRS are segments of DNA with proteins with the presence of Cas9 which cuts the strands of foreign DNA. When this enzyme breaks the DNA, it tricks the cell’s DNA repair mechanisms into putting the modifications the person wants. This technology came from the natural defense mechanisms that single cell organisms like bacteria used. They used the CRISPR RNA and Cas9 proteins to prevent attacks by foreign invaders. They do this by cutting and destroying the foreign DNA. Therefore, this led into genetic editing where genes can be altered, and people have been using this to modify their offspring to what they would like. However, in the article, CRISPR is being used for people with the inherited eye disorder that causes blindness. They have a mutation in the gene for the function of the retina which affects their normal vision. The scientists are planning to use CRISPR to remove the mutation by editing the DNA at the specific spot. However, the alternation made in the children or adults cannot be passed down to the offspring. CRISPR technology definitely will take us further in science and help us make more treatments and cures for people. I am excited to see if this particular treatment would work because it would save and extremely help so many people with this disorder. Even though CRISPR technology in previous studies been used to modify genomes which came with ethical issues, I am glad that it is being used in new studies with treatments for genetic disorders.
Having always dreamed of becoming a vet, the CTVT article was my obvious choice of readings. This article also caught my eye because my family has a history of cancers, and I am always wanting to learn more about them. I have never heard of a contagious cancer before, and was particularly surprised when I read that this cancer was sexually transmitted. CTVT is relatively new to America, only having migrated about 500 years ago whereas it developed in Asia at least 4000 years ago. The cancer and its mutations vary depending on location, which helps scientists figure out the location of the founders of each mutation. An interesting mutation in the cancer resulted in a DNA quintet of GTTCA, which has never been seen before in human cancers. Even more interesting, this mutation disappeared in the past 2000 years. CTVT is described in the article as its own organism, unlike any other. It is a tumor but not exactly a cancer. It is an STD but not a virus or infection. While CTVT is a very mysterious entity, it is thankfully slow-growing and rarely fatal.
The article that I read was “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” by Rachael Rettner. The article informed us about “The first study to test the gene-editing technology CRISPR inside the human body” in the United States. The technology will be used to correct the mutation in a gene that affects the function of the retina. The article says that this condition is a form of “Leber congenital amaurosis” and is one of the most common causes of childhood blindness. This treatment will be done by giving an injection to the light-sensitive cells of the retina, and the trials for this will include 18 adults and children over 3 years old. This article caught my attention because I remember talking about CRISPR technology in my biology class in 9th grade and how with it, parents can create “designer babies” with traits that they desire. This interested me as I realized how much we have evolved with our technology to now modify DNA, even though we discovered it less than 100 years ago. While I do support the fact that CRISPR technology can be used in a good way to prevent certain diseases, there are many ethical issues with this and the widespread of CRISPR could lead into an era of genetic inequality.
Canine transmissible venereal tumor, commonly known as CTVT, is a contagious cancer among dogs. This cancer proliferates by means of sexual reproduction between dogs ultimately leading to the widespread prevalence of CTVT in dogs. CTVT, however, contrasts from other human cancer due to its unknown mutations. Although recent research on cancer shows specific carcinogens such as sunlight and tobacco influence certain mutations in DNA sequences, CTVT possesses unknown mutations where its cause is uncertain; therefore, scientists speculate if the dogs’ environment in the past may have caused an unknown mutation. Because of CTVT’s extensive past, it has acquired numerous mutations throughout time. Despite a large number of mutations CTVT has undergone, most of the mutations do not benefit the tumor to harm its host. Specifically, CTVT tumors remain benign which means the cancer stays in-situ. Consequently, dogs and the tumors they host have developed a minimal parasitic relationship in which the tumor slightly harms the dog. This discovery of CTVT’s long presence in dogs has brought to light questions regarding contemporary human cancers. Due to many human cancers such as breast cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer harming many individuals, CTVT’s ability to coexist with dogs highlights how cancer could be tamed. CTVT has evolved to primarily be non-invasive, unlike other human cancers. Cancer treatments offered in modern medicine such as chemotherapy to treat patients utilize a systemic approach which harms the entire person. Chemotherapy, moreover, drives tumors to be more resistant to cancer therapies similar to the current antibiotic issue.
This week the article “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity” caught my attention. Not only are dogs one of my favorite animals, but the main subject of the article, the transmittable cancer, also piqued my interest. CTVT, canine transmissible venereal tumor, is a cancerous tumor that in unique in the sense that it can be spread through sexual contact and doesn’t die with the host. In humans, sexually transmitted viruses, HPV, for example, can be responsible for various cancers, but the cancers themselves can’t actually be spread. When it comes to CTVT, the cancer cells are independent parasites with the ability to form tumors on other dogs. Elizabeth Murchison from the University of Cambridge led a team that conducted the largest study of CTVT and discovered just how unique the disease is. By comparing the mutations that lead to cancerous tumors, scientists can calculate when and how the tumor was formed, and that’s just was Murchison and her team did for 546 tumors. They calculated that CTVT had originated in Central Asia anywhere from 4,000 to 8,500 years ago in a secluded dog population before spreading west to Europe around 1,900 years ago. About 500 years ago, there was a dramatic increase in the disease when it was brought to the Americas via a colonizer’s dog and then brought once more to Africa and back to Europe. Taking into account the signature of the mutation, Murchison and her team concluded that sunlight was the abundant carcinogen and pinpointed China as the probable place of origin. Something especially unusual in was a mutation of the nucleotide sequence GTCCA into the sequence GTTCA, a pattern never seen in any other cancer. The quintet was a fairly common mutation in the cancer’s early past, but hasn’t shown up recently. Some theories by Murchison and her team as to what carcinogen caused the change in mutation, are something in the dogs’ environment, and the possibility that ancient dog owners tried to treat their dogs’ tumors with chemicals. There are even signs pointing to the possibility that CTVT isn’t really a cancer. Normal cancer tumors are unstable and constantly changing while CTVT is relatively stable and has a slower growth and mutation rate compared to normal cancers. The abundance of mutations, which are mostly neutral, can be chalked up to its age and the disease has stopped trying to adapt to individual dogs, coming to coexist with its host. CTVT is usually non threatening and scientists are looking to tame the tumor with adaptive therapy instead of aggressively fighting it with chemotherapy. It’s predicted that the tumor will also become weaker and the tumors’ chances of survival will diminish as well, since CTVT is a very curable cancer. Although it is wanted off of dogs, the extinction of CTVT is not entirely welcome as scientists still have a lot to learn about this unusual tumor. Something in the article that really blew me away was the number of transmissible cancers similar to CTVT. Before even reading the actual article, I was surprised that there was such thing as a contagious cancer, but as I continued reading I was baffled by the fact that there are eight known types of contagious cancers among wild animals. I had never heard of transmissible tumors before, and I was not prepared to learn that there were indeed eight different kinds and not just one.
This week I began with reading LiveScience's article, "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness," written by Rachel Rettner. The article highlights the first ever study to test and use CRISPR, a recently discovered gene-editing technology, in a mutation causing a disorder inducing blindness. This condition is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis, a leading cause of childhood blindness. The mutation would affect the retina's prime function in the affected person. The scientists behind the study plan to use CRISPR to edit the impacted DNA in the mutation, with much precision. The researchers at Editas Medicine (conducting this study), will use an injection to directly deliver the "cure" to the retina and its light-sensitive cells. The trial is comprised of 18 patients in total: children (3 years and older) as well as adults. This treatment is not as controversial as CRISPR being used to edit the entire genome of babies (in China), which had the ability to be inherited through generations. This treatment cannot be inherited, the AP claims.
I was also intrigued by the story of CTVT. The title was especially enthralling and lured me to read. The article, "Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity," explains the contagious cancer spread from dog to dog and the more knowledge acquired about it. First of all, who has heard of a cancer that spreads just like that, that too from sexual contact and in dogs? It's rare. The name of this contagious cancer is known as canine transmissible venereal tumor and has been spreading around in dogs all over the world from over 6,000 years ago. There is a study conducted by Elizabeth Murchison who hope to understand the "biography of this unusual cancer." Overall this article was interesting and caught my attention from the minute I read the title.
Gene-editing technology has been a topic of controversy for many years. Most arguments have been about the ethics of modifying human genes. Gene editing technology such as CRISPR can be used to correct genetic disorders but can cause adverse side effects. While this debate is still going on, a new study, (the first study), has begun that will test CRISPR in the human body that will take place in the United States. The study aims to treat an inherited eye disorder that causes blindness.
The eye disorder, which is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis, will be treated through an injection that will directly treat the affected, light-sensitive cells. The mutation takes place in the retina and causes 2-3 newborns out of 100,000 to have childhood blindness. Leber congenital amaurosis is one of the most common causes of childhood blindness. The patients will be children age 3 and up and adults.
This study is different than the controversial use of CRISPR in China to edit the genomes of twin babies in 2018. The scientist, He Jiankui, claimed to make the babies resistant to HIV by deleting a gene in the human embryos. He also claimed that the babies were perfectly healthy. The study has been surrounded by controversy and has received outrage and concern. The gene that was deleted did make the babies resistant to HIV, but the gene also has other functions such as helping white blood cells function properly. The many other functions of the gene and the interactions that the gene has with other genes caused doubt in its effectiveness.
In conclusion, even though gene-editing technology exists and we can modify the genome of humans, there are other unintended side effects and ethical questions about the practice.
Of the articles for this week, I found the one detailing the use of CRISPR to treat blindness the most interesting. When we reached the biotechnology unit in freshman biology, we spent several class blocks debating the practicality and ethical repercussions of gene editing. I recall being on the fence when it came to gene editing. I recognized that it could be used to create “the perfect child” by changing cosmetic features like hair and eye color. At the end of the day, the long term positives for children that are predisposed to life changing genetic disorders made CRISPR invaluable to the future of medicine. CRISPR is now being used in trials to treat blindness amongst children and adults. The technology will be injected into light sensitive cells in the patients to attempt to correct the disorder. The technology can’t be passed down to future generations as opposed to if CRISPR was used on embryos. I am curious and excited to see how CRISPR will be used to help treat genetic disorders.
Out of all of the articles from this week, I was especially excited to read the article about CRISPR. I love reading anything about bioengineering since I want to become a biomedical engineer. Things like CRISPR are tools that will bring humanity to the future we see in science fiction. The ability to edit genetic code is pretty amazing, but it is also potentially very dangerous. Good applications of CRISPR, like the one described in the article, will be able to help a lot of people. CRISPR has the potential to help cure/treat many genetic diseases that so many people suffer from. Controversial uses of CRISPR, like designer babies, are already being seen today. The Chinese scientist, who genetically modified those two babies, showed how CRISPR can be used in a potentially harmful way. Despite all the danger that CRISPR presents, I'm still excited to see what people will do with CRISPR and how it will be used to help so many people. One thing that upsets me about the future of CRISPR is how long it will take to see it being used on a relatively regular basis. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the human trials, but I also know that it will take a long time for more research to be done, years even, which is not something that I'm happy about but I understand that it's necessary.
The first article, "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness," written by Rachael Rettner, is a very interesting article. It talks about how CRISPR, a tool that allows researchers to specifically edit DNA in a specific spot, treat an inherited eye disorder causing blindness. People with this disorder have a mutation in a gene concerning the role of the retina. It is said that this condition is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis, which is a very frequent cause of childhood blindness. Researchers would operate people by using an injection to deliver the treatment directly to the light-sensitive cells. It is given to these cells because the retina is the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye that are essential for normal vision. Apparently, the trial will enroll a total of eighteen patients, both children and adults. As a future doctor, I found this article to be very intriguing. It is wonderful to know that we have a new treatment that can potentially save many people from becoming blind.
This week I read the article “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity”. It describes a transferable cancer called CTVT—Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumor—that is only found in dogs. However, CTVT isn’t a regular cancer—thousands upon thousands of years of mutations changed it into something different, something resembling a parasite. Careful calculations estimate that it came about 4,000 to 8,500 years ago in Asia and spread around the globe due to colonization, among other things. In this period of time, CTVT has grown into something new. As we know, cancers “want” to overcome the body, and they do so by adapting. CTVT is different—it stabilized. Scientists speculate that it stopped trying to beat their hosts because it realized it didn’t need to. It’s coexisting with the dog (like a parasite). Researching this could prove useful in terms of human cancer studies. New treatments could be developed just by looking further into CTVT and analyzing it alongside samples of human cancers. CTVT is easy for dogs to overcome, so hopefully this new study provides a new path for cancer research. I also read the article “Caterpillars of the Peppered Moth Perceive Color Through Their Skin to Match Their Body Color to the Background” as evolutionary adaptions were always an interest of mine. Predators and prey have been evolving in response to each other—a phenomenon called co-evolution—in order to be on top of the evolutionary arms-race. The peppered moth adapted the technique of camouflage, in which it changes its outward appearance to blend in with the surrounding environment. The thing is, how do the caterpillars know what colors and patterns are surrounding it when its eyes are barely developed (they can only perceive light, not color)? Scientists at Liverpool University sought the answer. First, to make sure that they aren’t using their eyes, the researchers painted over their eyes. As expected, the caterpillars still changed color. The next step was to figure out which body part was responsible for detecting color. They discovered that the genes responsible for sight were found in none other than the caterpillars skin. Over time, the peppered moth was able to evolve the capacity to camouflage using its skin to detect color, which overcame the problem in which the eyes can’t differentiate color.
The article I chose to read today was 'Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background" because I was wondering why they would blindfold caterpillars. The fact that many insect are able to change color by their surroundings and not necessarily needing to see the object is mind boggling. The three different approaches used to solve the "riddle of how caterpillars of the peppered moth match the color of their surroundings" involved blindfolding, behavioral analysis, and gene examination. Blindfolding eliminated the possibility of the moths relying on their vision in order to morph colors. The behavioral experiment gave a new insight as to what a blindfolded caterpillar would prefer to morph into, which was proven to rest on a twig most similar to their own color. The gene analysis gave a direct answer as to why they don't need their eyes to change color; because they have genes related to vision in the skin of all body segments. In general, this article really intrigued me and how amazing research is.
The article I chose to read was “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity.” It was about a tumor known as CTVT that is found in dogs. This tumor originated somewhere in Asia around 6000 years ago. Unlike human tumors that die with the host, this tumor found a way to spread through sexual contact. However Adrian Baez-Ortega, who was one of the main researchers on the study, says that the tumor isn’t like other tumors. It doesn’t try to actively outwit the hosts immune system. Instead it acts more like a parasite, just hitching a ride. Another different thing about this tumor is that it evolves as it grows. This means that one tumor can have cells that are completely different from one another. Elizabeth Murchison, of the University of Cambridge, conducted one of that largest studies of CTVT. One common thing she found among the tumors was a stretch of DNA where GTCCA turned into GTTCA. Murchison was unsure about how this particular mutation came to be. However this mutation hasn’t popped up in 2000 years. She believes that maybe ancient people tried to cured their dogs by using some ancient method of chemotherapy. The article concludes with the hope that this extremely interesting cancer leaves dogs but is still around in a glass box to observe.
I found the "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness" article to be so interesting. Biotechnology and the use of gene editing has been discussed in many of my classes. While the discussion of using technology like CRISPR has been debated on the ethical standpoint because of the possibility of creating the "perfect child", I think that the use of CRISPR in the sense of benefitting genetic disorders is remarkable. To be able to help people born with these genetic disorders is something that can be so beneficial to the medical field and opens up the field to a new tool to help others. As discussed in the article, CRISPR will be used to specifically edit light sensitive cells in the eye to treat an inherited disorder that causes childhood blindness. I think the use of gene editing can really be helpful to so many people especially when it comes to treating genetic, inherited disorders. It can be revolutionary to the medical field and provide better ways of living to many people. I truly found this to be extremely intriguing and it opens so many doors for the future.
This week I chose the article “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” because I find it extremely interesting how we have come far enough to use gene-editing technology to help people who suffer from blindness caused from an inherited eye disorder. Those with this condition, which is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis, have a mutation in a gene that affects the light-sensitive cells in the retina which are needed for sight. CRISPR, which is a tool that is used to edit specific spots in DNA, will be incorporated with a direct injection to the light-sensitive cells in the retina. Leber congenital amaurosis is a common cause of childhood blindness, so the treatment will be used on a total of 18 patients that include children 3 and up alongside adults who also suffer from the condition.
CRISPR is a fast and efficient genome editing tool. Scientists use programmed DNA to add, remove, or alter an organism’s DNA sequence at particular spots. A created segment of “guide RNA” binds to the target sequence of DNA and a protein called Cas9 works with CRISPR to form a complex along with the guide RNA. The article by Rachael Rettner introduced a study which is being performed to test CRISPR by using it to treat an inherited eye disorder that causes blindness. This common disorder is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis, where a mutation in the gene sequence affects the retina’s function. CRISPR will be able to edit the mutation and an injection will be given to send the treatment to the light-sensitive cells. The trial with include 18 patients, consisting of both adults and children. Unlike a previous test by a Chinese scientist, this study will not utilize CRISPR to alter genes in embryos. Because they modified DNA from embryos, the new codes were heritable and could be passed on through future generations. I am curious to know how well CRISPR will cure the patient’s blindness. Of course along with its positives, this technology raises several questions and today it is a very controversial topic in science. While some may reason that CRISPR is beneficial because it potentially eradicates diseases by fixing mutations, others see the possible ethical, social, and legal issues that can turn up. I feel that we should not be using this tool on embryos, however, editing mutations to prevent genetic causes of diseases will be extremely useful. Scientists should definitely be cautious while exploring this powerful technology and should respect both sides of the argument.
This week, I chose to read the article, “Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background.” Researchers of Liverpool University and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology conducted several experiments on the caterpillars of peppered moths to determine how they can camouflage by adapting to the color of their surroundings. Three different types of experiments were conducted to test the theory that these caterpillars can camouflage themselves, even when blindfolded. In the first experiment the eyes of the caterpillars were painted over with black acrylic paint and placed them on different colored twigs. The blindfolded caterpillars were able to match their body color to that of the twig. The second behavioral experiment allowed the blindfolded caterpillars to move to different colored twigs but they chose the twigs closest in color to the color of their bodies. The last test was done to examine where in the body the vision genes were expressed. The theory was confirmed with the revelation that the caterpillars expressed vision-related genes in not only their eyes, but in their skin and throughout all body segments. This unique feature allows the caterpillars to camouflage with their surroundings to avoid getting eaten. This extensive research done on the caterpillars of peppered led to the construction of a computer model that can ‘see’ the same way birds do. This computer will allow scientists to further learn about adaptations such as color change, twig-mimicking, and behavioral back-ground-matching which likely evolved to avoid visual detection by predators. The caterpillars naturally adapted to their environment to prevent getting eaten, while the birds improve their vision to prey upon the caterpillars.
This week I read the article about CRISPR gene editing. I found it interesting the that there is such a tool to try and treat the eye disorder that causes blindness. I learned that people with this condition have a gene mutation that affects the retina in the eye. CRISPR is a tool that allows for DNA to be edited. A Chinese scientist used CRISPR to genetically modify genres in twin babies which in turn could be passed down to offspring. However in the new study, these modifications cannot be passed down to future generations. The idea of CRISPR curing various diseases is fascinating, but I feel that if it's not used correctly, it could also be fairly dangerous. Despite the potential dangers that could arise with CRISPR, I am still curious about how successful it will come to be in the future.
This week, I chose to read the article “Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background”. It was very shocking to learn that even after being blindfolded, the caterpillars were able to move to the twig that most matched their skin. The scientists painted over their eyes, but even then, the caterpillars were able to sense the light on each twig to know which one they blend the most with. This was possible because the caterpillars have vision genes in their skin. In fact, the scientist believe that the caterpillars have more vision genes throughout their skin than in their eyes. This ability allows the caterpillars to hide from their predators to minimize the risk of them being eaten. This was very interesting to learn about because it is crazy to think that an animal can basically “see” with their body, not only their eyes.
I read the article “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity” and found it fascinating that a cancer is able to evolve as if it were an organism. According to the article, CTVT doesn’t have the trademark qualities that we see in human cancer. This would include genomic stability where the cancer is constantly mutating, duplicating or deleting genes, rearranging entire chromosomes. CTVT is surprising stable and hasn’t had as many mutations as you’d expect considering how ancient it is. The mutations don’t even necessarily serve to combat the immune system of the cancer’s host. The mutations are neutral. It’s almost as if the cancer is choosing to coexist with its host, instead of attempting to attack. This discovery has brought forth the idea of adaptive therapy. Researchers plan is to treat cancers intermittently and gently, controlling them, but not triggering the rise of resistance. CTVT provides the hope that tumors can be tamed turning them into a manageable problem. This could be very beneficial to human cancer patients, especially if researchers are able to tame tumors successfully.
This week I read the article “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” I found this article interesting because CRISPR is a cluster of DNA sequences derived from fragment of infected DNA, this is later used to detect similar
virus DNA in the future. I only thought that CRISPR could be used to eradicate the DNA of viruses, after reading this article I understood that scientists can edit mutations as well. I was interested in the fact that scientists can use this method to fix mutations, if scientists can successfully achieve editing the mutation for blindness I believe that it will open a new door in helping people with such mutations in the future. Although achieving this feat might be good for people suffering from these mutations, It might also come with some backlash from Some people. Many people bring up the ethics of tinkering with peoples genomes. I would also like to know if there are any side effects to this method, what are the costs, and how will this effect humans in the future.
Out of all the articles, the one about a transmissible canine cancer drew my attention instantly. The cancer explained in the article is called CTVT, unlike most cancers which die with the host, this one is contagious. The origin of this cancer was a mutation in the genitals of a dog, the cells multiplied uncontrollably and formed a tumor. The tumor spread to other dogs through sexual contact. Even as the dog died, the cancer continued to live. This fact is what interested me the most, as I have never thought that a contagious cancer could exist. Fortunately, it is a cancer that is limited to canines. In addition, the article describes a few other transmissible tumors, but the fact that no other is as successful as CTVT is emphasized. The research of CTVT by the University of Cambridge has shown that the original dog host has most likely lived in China. Based on the strong sunlight signatures in CTVT, they could pinpoint the location to be one of a lower latitude. This led to the conclusion of its origin as China. But, since then, the tumor has made its way across the globe. Other than sunlight, other carcinogens have created mutations, one was which caused part of the DNA to change from GTCCA to GTTCA. A pattern which was never encountered before in any other cancer of any other species. CTVT is very unlike other cancers, it acts like it’s own organism, like a parasite rather than a cancer cell. It is bizarrely stable in its growth. The researchers in the article explain that it doesn’t have a reason to adapt anymore, it no longer harms the dog and can easily be treated. As CTVT grows through asexual reproduction, it does more harm by developing mutations and dividing since it could damage the genes in the genome that it needs to survive. It is hesistant to evoke the immune system of the host. So, the host and the tumor don’t have an agressive relationship, they coexist. It will be interesting to see how much more research will reveal. I understand why scientists would actually consider conserving the tumor for research purposes. A cancer that doesn’t act like a cancer is certainly very intriguing.
The article "Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background" was very interesting. I wonder what made experimenters even test this rather than simply assuming that the caterpillars perceive the color through their eyes. After blindfolding the caterpillars (painting their eyes with black acrylic paint), they were still able to change their "color to resemble the background to the same extent as caterpillars whose eyes were not covered." After trying to figure out how the caterpillars were doing this, researchers discovered genes related to vision in the caterpillars' skin. This is unusual but doesn't explain why the blindfolded caterpillars can perceive color because those genes are supposedly useless without eyes. That seems to be like having code without a computer to process it. However, this issue was not addressed in the article likely due to the fact that this research is new so researchers from Liverpool University and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology do not have enough information to fully explain this phenomenon. Therefore the question remains: How do caterpillars perceive color without the use of their eyes?
I read the article "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness”, we have come a long way from when we first discovered the CRISPR DNA sequences in the late 1980s. In 2017 we were successfully able to use CRISPR-Cas9 to edit genes and now we are on the verge of converting the defense mechanism that was used by prokaryotic organisms to fend off viruses into a tool that can help cure human ailments. This blindness is caused by a mutation in the genes and affects the retina. CRISPR will be used to target and edit that mutation. We will be using the same tools that bacteria and archaea have been using to target and defend against viruses to cure diseases. If this works it will open up whole new world possibilities and applications for CRISPR and hopefully, we can work on curing many diseases that are uncurable right now.
The article I chose to read for this week was “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness.” I have always been interested with the science behind crisper technology. The mind boggling, revolutionary new class of molecular tools (known as CRISPR), are used to precisely target and cut any kind of genetic material. CRISPR technology has become the fastest, easiest, and cheapest methods scientists have ever had to manipulate the code of life in any organism on Earth. This ingenuity behind CRISPR tech. has the ability of altering the chemical foundations that make us who we are. In recent cases, scientists have started to use CRISPR technology to genetically modify a mutation in the eye that causes blindness. This disorder in the eye affects the function of the retina. According to the article, “The condition is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis, one of the most common causes of childhood blindness that affects about 2 to 3 newborns out of every 100,000, according to the National Institutes of Health.” CRISPR technology is spurring new advancements every day, with capabilities of removing long term and short term health abnormalities like cancer and more.
Out of the three articles I read, I was most intrigued by the article "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness". This was as a while ago I read the article describing the Chinese scientist He used CRISPER illegally on newborns before. The main idea of this article was the idea of gene-editing technology to correct the genome to cure an infant blindness disease. This is the first time this technology is first used in the US so the first thing that I pondered was the ethics behind it. I thought that although the tech may fix a mutated gene segment, it may accidentally mutate another segment. Something else that I found interesting was the idea that this edit was made so it could not be passed down to the next generation. The controversial experiment by He was different as his edit was done in the embryos and this edit could very well be passed down to the next generation.
Tanush Saini-
This week I read the article,”CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness”. This article engrossed me because I remember being introduced to CRISPS during honors bio and was curious to learn more about it. The article talked about how CRISPR can be utilized to treat an eye condition where the affected suffers from blindness. The disorder affects the light sensitive cells in the retina of the eye. I remember reading about CRISPR as a tool to edit the genome of twin embryos in china but I didn’t know that it could be used to treat eye disorders. This is very interesting as it opens a whole world of possibilities to treat other disorders and diseases we havent found the cure to yet.
CTVT is a contagious cancer that spreads from dog to dog through sexual contact. The disease originated about 6,000 years ago when an unknown dog developed mutations that allowed it to multiply uncontrollably. Unlike many forms of cancer, the tumor does not die with its host. In order to further research this topic, a team of people, led by Elizabeth Murchinson, are comparing the DNA of 546 tumors collected from dogs all around the world. They noticed that the tumor evolves, which leads to the tumor being able to be genetically different in each cell. The scientists are comparing these patterns of mutations in order to be able to identify where and when the mutation arose, how it works, evolves and spreads. As the article, “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity”, highlights these key points, it also mentions the journey of the tumor. The journey of the tumor reveals some of the environments or experiences that it encountered. For example, sunlight caused the DNA to mutate in some particular ways. These mutations can be found throughout the tumor, allowing the team to get a better understanding of the origin of the tumor. There was one particular mutation that seemed to be caused by something never seen before. The mutation was exposed to something that human cancers had never experienced. This led scientists to hypothesize that there may have been trials in the past in order to try to eradicate the tumor through the use of chemicals. Scientists also noticed that the tumor and the dogs are no longer competing with one another. Instead, they have a symbiotic relationship. Eventually humans led a trial in order to try and cure the tumor. The trial was successful. Now there is talk about eradicating the disease altogether, though some scientists aren’t in favor of causing the cancer to “disappear”.
I found this article interesting due to its process. Throughout the article, the reader uncovers new facts about the cancer and ways that scientists are discovering new information that is bringing them closer to figuring out where the disease came from. The flow of information astounded me. The article not only taught me about a new cancer but it also taught me about the scientific process.
I also read about the caterpillars of the peppered moths and how the can change their color in order to match their environment. This article reminded me about a lab that I did last year. I learned about how peppered moths adapt to their surroundings in order to blend in. This characteristic helps them avoid being eaten. In this article, the author talks about experiments that were done on the caterpillars in order to test how they match the color of their surroundings. At the end of the experiments the scientists realized that the cause of this adaption is due to a gene in the skin of the caterpillar. This article was interesting because although last year I had learned about the peppered moths being able to match their surroundings, I never learned how they were able to do that. As I was reading this article I was wondering if other animals, such as certain fish, also have genes that allow them to perceive the color of their environment through the use of their skin.
The first article that caught my interest was the article about a bizarre cancer seen in dogs, CTVT. This cancer originated in a dog who spread and passed down the mutation through sexual contact, therefore unlike any other cancers seen in humans. Although HPV can lead to cervical cancer and in humans is contagious through sexual contact, the virus itself is not cancerous. The scientists studying CTVT used a process of studying cells at opposite ends of a tumor which can be genetically different and ones that can spread to other organs. By comparing patterns of mutations working backwards, scientists can identify how a tumor originated or evolved. From the technique they discovered that the cancer’s history is similar to cancers seen in humans. Some patterns of the mutation suggests that the mutation may have been exposed to something 2000 years ago that dogs were no longer exposed to. Most unlike human cancers, CTVT’s mutations are neutral and fail to continuously develop resistant to intense chemotherapy. It is so important to study the way this strange cancer behaves because scientists can use information about CTVT and apply it to other cancers in humans. CTVT has already led to possibilities of a new way to cure cancer, perhaps by treating cancer gently so that the cancer does not become completely resistant. Because CTVT is getting easier to treat though, it may become extinct but as for now it must be studied.
The next article I read was the article about CRISPR and its new use to treat a common mutation which causes blindness, called Leber congenital amaurosis. CRISPR works by precisely editing DNA in a specific area, and this tool may be very important for the future. While CRISPR can be used to cure harmful mutations in humans, it can soon be used to change certain neutral traits. Although this can be extremely innovative, it may also be dangerous because too many people can take advantage of the tool and create even more unknown and harmful problems in human DNA. For example GMOs give us better quality and a higher quantity of foods, but we still do not know their effects. Therefore it is important that CRISPR and other DNA changing tools of the sort be intensely studied before being available to a large market of people.
Years ago, I lost my dog to cancer, so the article “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity” intrigued me from the title. As I read, I soon realized that CTVT, canine transmissible venereal tumor, is very diverse than the strain of bone cancer that had infected my dog. I was surprised to learn that CTVT has been around for about 6000 years and is continuing to spread through sexual transmission. Typical cancers that appear in both humans and animals originate from mutated cells, which accumulate into tumors and ultimately die with their host. Elizabeth Murchison from the University of Cambridge led a research team to conduct studies on this unique tumor. In their findings, they concluded that in comparison to standard cancers, the CTVT genome is very stable. Mutations have built up for thousands of years, yet the rate of development is gradual and minimal. I was surprised to read that the new gene mutations have neither helped or hurt the tumor. The strain rarely results in death or other serious health issues. It seems as though dogs have been living with CTVT for quite some time, and if the strain was cancerous, it has since adapted to the anatomy of dogs. Scientists are in discussion on whether or not they should develop methods to extract CTVT from the species and preserve the tumors as a scientific phenomenon. I hope that in the future the science community will discover the true inner workings of the strain and work to eliminate it as dogs continue to reproduce.
For this week's article, I chose to talk about CRISPR. The CRISPR technology plays a role in genetically modifying DNA. It is specifically controversial when it comes to "designer" babies, which are babies who are genetically modified to have desirable traits. In 2002, the National Academy of Sciences released a report calling for a legal ban on human cloning. The report concluded that the high rate of health problems in cloned animals suggests that such an effort in humans would be highly dangerous for the mother and developing embryo and is likely to fail. Beyond safety, the possibility of cloning humans also raises a variety of social issues like the psychological issues that would result for a cloned child who is the identical twin of his or her parent. Furthermore, The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights indicates in Article 24 that “germ-line interventions” could be “contrary to human dignity.”
The Council of Europe’s Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine indicates in Article 13 that “an intervention seeking to modify the human genome may only be undertaken for preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and only if its aim is not to introduce any modification in the genome of any descendants.”
According to the 2001 European Union Directive on clinical trials, "No gene therapy trials may be carried out which result in modifications to the subject's germ line genetic identity."
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights indicates in Article 7 that “No one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.” Even in America, an amendment known as the Dickey-Wicker Amendment prevents federal funding of research involving the creation or destruction of human embryos. This brings up the question, how controversial will the first human usage of CRISPR be, even if it has nothing to do with "designer" babies, and rather is used to cure an incurable disability.
I was very intrigued by the article titled "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness" because I am very interested in gene editing and how it will affect humans over time. This article discusses how CRISPR will be used to treat an inherited eye disorder due to a gene mutation that affects the function of the retina which causes blindness. It explained that the trial will consist of a group of both adults and children and an injection will be used to deliver the treatment directly to the retina to fix the mutated gene. This is something that has never been done before in the United States so it makes me wonder whether it will be effective or possibly have unintended consequences. I have heard of CRISPR being used in China to edit the genomes of embryos as the article explains. When scientists carry out this process they are essentially creating "designer babies" since the babies' traits will be based on what the parents want. The topic of "designer babies" is very controversial due to the ambiguity surrounding its morality. While some people believe that it is unethical to edit the genomes of embryos using CRISPR technology, others see no issues in doing so. I believe that gene editing can be helpful in ways such as fixing mutations in babies' genes before they are born to prevent diseases. However, I also understand how gene editing can be unethical because it could give certain babies desirable traits. This may make other children feel like they are not as good as "designer babies" and create more inequality in our world. Many people also believe that it is unethical to mess with nature and change babies before they are even born. The article states that when CRISPR is used to edit the DNA of embryos, these alterations in their genomes can be passed down to succeeding generations. This could have a huge impact because it may cause the next generation of humans to be vastly different from the current one. Concerning the trial that the article discusses, there is no need to worry about this issue since the DNA edits that will be made cannot be passed down to future generations. It is hard to predict whether the use of CRISPR will lead to good or bad things but future studies will help scientists determine what it should and should not be used for.
I was intrigued by the article, “Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background.” I always loved reading about nature, and I was always fascinated of how animals survive in various environments and how they adapt to their surroundings. My favorite subject in biology is evolution and ecology. This title grabbed my attention because it was about peppered moths and caterpillars, creatures that I find very interesting, and how they camouflage with their environment. According to a new study in Liverpool University and the Max Planck Institute, caterpillars can sense a twig’s color with their skin. The caterpillars, despite being blind, were able to match their skin with the twig’s background. Other animals adapt their color to their surroundings by perceiving color and light independently just like how the caterpillars of the peppered moth change the color of their bodies to match the twig color of their food plant. Previously, scientists had no knowledge of how insect larvae perceive color, and they had two theories in mind: it was caused by diet or by the caterpillars seeing color. To test if these theories were true, they conducted three experiments. In the first experiment, the caterpillars’s eyes were painted with black acrylic paint, and they were placed on different color branches. To the surprise of the researchers, the caterpillars changed color to resemble each of the unique color branches. In the second experiment, blindfolded caterpillars had to choice to move to any color branch, and results showed that caterpillars tended to move to a twig that matched their skin. Finally, a third experiment was conducted where researchers examined in which parts of the body genes related to vision being expressed. Results proved that the head along with the skin of body segments of the caterpillars had genes related to vision expression; in fact, one visual gene was expressed more in the skin than the head. Overall, I learned that most animals camouflage to protect themselves from predators, and that each animal, such as the peppered moth caterpillars, has a unique way to blend in with the environment. A common pattern among numerous animals is to change the color of their bodies to match the environment they are in. As a result of this advantage, caterpillars with better color sensing were eaten by less predators than those without this sense.
The article I read this week was titled,”Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background”, which thoroughly explained the three experiments, the scientists had tested. In the first experiment, the eyes of the caterpillars were painted over with black acrylic paint. However, the caterpillars could still adjust their color to the background which is honestly mind boggling. In the second experiment, the scientists conducted a behavioral experiment in which the caterpillars were blindfolded. The result was yet the same. Consistently the caterpillar rested on the twig most similar to their own color. In the third approach, the scientists examined the genes. Soon, they figured that the visuals gene was expressed more in the skin than the actual head itself. This had fascinated me as I had never been exposed to this fact before. It was also quite interesting, how a simple creature like the caterpillar could do such unique activities.
Canine transmissible venereal tumor, CTVT, is a type of infectious cancer within dogs. It originated in a dog 6,000 years ago in Asia, when it began to develop mutations that caused gentian cells to uncontrollably multiply. The cancer was able to spread through dogs through sexual contract. This cancer was different from others, as each cell was a free-living parasite that was able to create other tumors on a different dog. The cancer continues to evolve which causes constant changes throughout the cells within a single tumor. Meaning that the cells within the same tumor can be different genetically. A team of scientists are able to study the tumor’s genes to see how its traveled through the continents and how it has been mutated by several other carcinogens, such as sunlight and cigarette smoke. Because of the vast differences in the tumors of the dogs Murchison says, “CTVT is like its own organism…”, because of how so many mutations have occurred within it. The article has further examples on how CTVT differs from other cancers. Such as its genomic stability. It is explained that most cancers have constant deletion of genes, duplication, and mutations that to look at the genome it appears chaotic. However, CTVT has a “picture of stability”. In addition, normal cancers have constant mutations that allow it to go against the immune system, like a faster growth or metastasizing. Yet most of this cancer’s mutations have been found to be neutral. Having no clear benefit to the tumor.
The article also points out a strategy for those affected with cancer. It is unlike aggressive chemotherapy which can cause resistance and recurrent tumors to evolve. It is called adaptive therapy in which the cancer is controlled intermittently and more gently, which is able to avoid resistant to be triggered. Interestingly enough a researcher from the study has said that CTVT might be one of the most cancers to be curable known. I chose this article because through last year I studied different cancers of humans but this time it was an interesting change to learn about a cancer that affects dogs. Overall I enjoyed reading about how this cancer originated and its travel route through different continents and how it is constantly changing.
After reading all the articles this week I decided to write my thoughts on the article about CTVT “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity”. I found it extremely intriguing that a cancer could evolve/mutate the ability to spread to other dogs through sexual contact. However, this scares me because of its implications for the human race. If a cancer that affected humans was able to mutate or evolve this trait, or a trait like it, and could spread more easily, the consequences would be disastrous. The human race could go extinct if there was no resistance to this. Another thing that interested me was that at one point this cancer was a “dog”, or at least the cell of a dog. It surprises me that the cell of an animal could turn into an immortal killing machine just through uncontrollable division. Near the end of the article the author brings up the controversy of killing off the disease. My opinion on this is that the disease should be killed off because there is no point in leaving it around in the world to spread to other dogs. In addition to this if the disease evolved the ability to spread to other organisms it could be disastrous for those organisms, especially if it spread to humans.
This week what caught my attention was the article about CRISPR Gene editing, which was very interesting. Gene editing is a very controversial topic since it uses technology to change specific parts of a DNA in the early stages of the embryo. What’s controversial about it is the fact of how far can we go with this type of technology and how far can we change about the human gene. In this article it talks about how we can use CRISPR technology to fix specific parts of a DNA related to an eye disorder that causes blindness. Using this technology we can treat and cure different kinds of disorders that have affected human for along time. Like with the patients who are getting treated from this syndrome and could restore their eyesight back. Even though most of these treatments can’t be done at later stages due to their complications, also only specific types of syndromes or gene ceases can be undone not all of them due to the limits of how far this type of technology can go. However this technology can be used in ways to harm newly born babies and human overall. If their uses is not controlled and within moral and law guidelines it can harm us significantly. For example last year a Chinese scientists genetically modified two twins to see the effects of this technology, of course the use of that technology can be dangerous and can affect us immensely.
Many organisms have methods of avoiding detection by predators, one of which, the peppered moth, presents itself to be truly unique. In the article “Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background” by the Max Planck Institute of Chemical Ecology, they discuss the observations that they had made on peppered moths in the mimicry of their environment. Peppered moth caterpillars mimic their environment by appearing as a twig and morphing their color to match that of the plant which they feed on. Though the scientists thought that the caterpillars were able to do so by the use of their eyes to see their surroundings, recent discoveries say otherwise. After an experiment conducted on the caterpillars by blindfolding them, they were surprised that the caterpillars were still able to mimic their surroundings. After further research, they found that the caterpillars were using their skin to identify the color of their surroundings. The caterpillars usually match their color to that of the plant which they eat. The skin of the caterpillar’s acts as eyes which observe the environment that they are in. The gene which involves the visual perception of the caterpillars is found both in the skin and eyes. Most organisms usually camouflage to reduce the risk of being eaten by predators, but the ability to mimic the environment using color and physical form allows for a high chance of surviving and pass their genes to future generations.
I read the article about CTVT, which is a cancer that spreads from dog to dog through sexual interactions. I learned that it originated in Asia about six thousand years ago. A cell in a dog developed a mutation. This made the cell multiply uncontrollably and develop a tumor. This cancer was different from other cancers. It did not die when it’s host (the dog) died. Instead it was contagious. This cancer spread from one dog to another by sexual interactions, it became “immortal”. This cancer is called canine transmissible venereal tumor(CTVT). Usually, cancer can not spread from one organism to another but this cancer is like a parasite that can create a tumor on another dog. A team of scientists studied CTVT and learned about how it changed due to mutations throughout the years. Over the years, CTVT got many mutations which made it very different than the cancer that was originally formed in the dog. I have always loved animals and especially dogs. I’m also very interested in learning about diseases and cures to treat them. This is what originally interested me in reading this article. I was surprised that this cancer was contagious because cancers usually don’t spread. I really enjoyed this article and learned a lot about the cancer.
The history of how canine transmissible venereal tumors spread among dogs fascinated me while reading the article “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity.” The mutation grew from Asia all across Europe. The journey of CTVT was found by a University of Cambridge team with results from several dogs diagnosed with this cancer. The team was able to find so much with the cancer’s genetic information. The amount of information that can be found just by studying the genes of the mutation is astonishing which is what was used to locate the beginnings of this cancer. Furthermore, the article ties into what we learned before in class with DNA sequences. The article explains that the normal sequence GTCCA turned into GTTCA. Additionally, it is more abnormal than other tumors because it acts with more stability rather than the chaotic instability in genes that is found in other cancers where the gene is constantly duplicated, mutated, and more. The team identifies CTVT as its own entity which leads the leader of the group Murchison to believe that killing it would be more of an extinction rather than a cure. In my opinion, even if CTVT is identified as its own being then it should still be killed. This is because I wouldn’t want to have these beautiful creatures known as dogs have to go through chemotherapy.
The contagious cancer CTVT is sexually transmitted between dogs. Each cancer cell has the ability to build up a tumor on another dog. Studies are being conducted to understand the strength of CTVT. Scientists are calling CTVT like its own organism because of the different mutations it has gone through over the years to become the type cancer that it is now. Cancers that grow in humans try to adapt and spread through their immune systems. What’s interesting about CTVT is that the mutations the cancer has gone through over the years do not seem to affect the cancer at all. Even with the mutations, CTVT does not need to adapt much to impact a dog majorly. It is said that the dog and cancer cells coexist and that the cells that make up the tumor are like a parasite. Doctors are trying to find the most effective options to treat this unique cancer. Their plan is to treat the cancer gently so that the tumors do not feel the need to resist the treatment and grow larger. They want to make sure the tumor becomes a long term problem that can be managed with treatment. What’s fascinating about CTVT is that it cannot always be seen as a cancer or as a living organism. It has a unique relationship with its host in which the ecology of the tumor is similar to a parasite.
The first article details upcoming plans to utilize CRISPR technology in humans to treat an eye disorder that causes blindness. This disorder is a subform of Leber congenital Amaurosis, which is caused by a mutated gene that affects the retina. More specifically, CRISPR will be used to correct this mutation with an injection that directly targets the affected cells. The genetic edits made in the children and adults involved in the study will not be inheritable, however. Another article regards CTVT, a cancer that spreads amongst dogs. It started as a mutated cell in the genitals of a dog thousands of years ago, causing it to become a tumor. Unlike typical tumors, this one was able to spread via sexual activity between dogs. This contrasts the nature of the typical tumor in the way that it usually dies with its host. It is also unusual in its ability to infect other dogs and spread. Elizabeth Murchison and a team studied CTVT from dogs across the world. They discovered that CTVT originated between four and eight and a half thousand years ago in Central Asia to spread west to Europe. It traveled to the Americas through the dogs of colonizers and made it back to Europe and Africa upon the travelers’ return. It was also found that CTVT were subject to multiple carcinogens that changed it such as sunlight. Such a discovery allowed the scientists to determine at what latitude a certain dog lived. An unfamiliar DNA quintet, GTTCA, also occurred for a time and never returned. This quintet had never been seen in any other cancer before. Although CTVT is constantly being mutated, it does so more slowly than the typical tumor and doesn’t do so to necessarily benefit itself or harm its host. Doctors are taking heed of the nature of CTVT to take a new approach to treating tumors: treating the tumor gently and not aggressively enough to trigger resistance. Scientists value the original qualities of CTVT and consider it a source for unlocking new knowledge regarding tumors.
This week I read the article “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness”. I decided to read this article because I had done prior research on this topic in freshman year. This article was mainly revolving around the idea of using CRISPR techno to correct a mutation in the back of your eye to treat an inherited eye disorder that causes blindness. The people who have this gene has a mutation in a gene that affects the retina. This disease affects almost 2 to 3 newborns out of every hundred thousand. They way that the scientists behind this project is going about it is that they will inject the treatment to light sensitive cells in the back of your eye. So far the experiment has eighteen people to experiment on. They compared this experiment to the experiment preformed by the Chinese scientist who had used CRISPR technology to edit the genomes of twin babies. It was a controversial experiment experiment because the gene altercations could be passed down whereas the newer experiment wouldn’t. I chose this article to read because I found it interesting that you can edit your genes with a new form of technology. The fact that we can edit ours Eli’s truly amazing.
I found the article, “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” to be fascinating. Researchers will use CRISPR to fix a mutation known as Leber congenital amaurosis, which causes childhood blindness. If we are able to cure blindness, think about how many more conditions we will be able to cure. Another part of this article that I found interesting was that there are differences depending on the stage of development of the DNA. For instance, if researchers use CRISPR to edit genomes in the beginning stages of development, such as the DNA of embryos, traits are able to be passed down. However, if researchers use CRISPR to edit genomes in the ending stages of development, such as after birth, traits are not able to be passed down generations.
The article that caught my eye this week was the story of CTVT, a cancer that is found in dogs. This article caught my eye because I have alway been fascinated by cancer. CTVT is also known as canine transmissible venereal tumor. The origin of CTVT is about 6,000 years ago when, like most cancers, there was a mutation in a cell which caused it to multiply uncontrollably. I learned in honors biology that cancer begins and ends with its host. For example, if a person had pancreatic cancer and they died the cancer would die as well. However, not in this case. Fascinatingly, this mutation was able to pass its characteristics to another by sexual contact. As CTVT grows it also evolves, which is interesting because this makes the tumor immortal. Another fact about cancer is that cancer is constantly changing. Most cancers adapt to their host to grow a little faster to to spread to more areas. However, with CTVT scientist believe that the cancer is not adapting anymore. Most mutations in cancer do not seem to benefit the tumor in any way. A team at the University of Cambridge has been comparing the DNA of 546 tumors collected from dogs around the world. They have been able to figure out which mutations arose when and where. I found it interesting how scientist are able to identify how the tumor spread. This shows how advanced we have gotten. The article continues to talk about the source of CTCT’s mutations. A question that the team of scientist wonder is that this cancer was exposed to something that caused one part of the DNA to change to GTTCA from GTCCA. This mysterious mutation was only accounted for a third of the cancers past, but it has not been seen again. Could this be caused by an environmental factor or was it done by previous owners who have tried to treat the tumor? CTVT has had many mutations throughout it’s life time, so I don’t think it can be be classified as cancer. CTVT, seems to be a tumor that is laying low instead of growing at faster pace. While CTVT is failing to harm the host it is also failing to benefit the host. Slowly, the tumor is becoming weaker and less efficient. I have to agree with the author that does cure really mean extinction.
This week I read "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness." I find it very interesting that this type of technology is already at a point where it being used on humans. CRISPR is a a genetic engineering tool that uses a CRISPR sequence of DNA and its associated protein to edit the base pairs of a gene. So crisper is technology that will allow people to now edit genomes, as a result mutations can be fixed and if used on the correct genome can possibly save lives. It has finally been allowed to be used in the United States, it will be used on a condition that affects the retina leading to abnormal vision. The trial will be done on a total of eighteen patients. Compared to this study there was a controversial study done by a Chinese scientist who used genomes on twin babies. The difference between these two trials are that the ones done in the United States can not be passed down to later offspring.
This week I read “Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity”. I think that almost everyone is affected by cancer in their lives. Whether it be they have cancer themselves, someone they know has it, or they are a doctor treating cancerous patients, the disease is extremely relative. I had never heard of canine transmissible venereal tumor, CTVT, and I had never heard of cancer being sexually transmittable, which CTVT is. The article discusses how Elizabeth Murchison and her team finished the largest study of CTVT by comparing the DNA of 546 tumors collected from dogs around the world. I find it fascinating that scientists can identify where mutations arise in tumor cells as the tumor grows. Murchison's team not only observed a single tumor in a single organism, but they "mapped out a metastasis on a global scale, over thousands of years". Through this they could support that CTVT surfaced 4,000 to 8,500 years ago in Central Asia and then gradually spread through Asia and Europe, the Americas, and back through Europe and Africa. The team observed patterns of mutation, some from sunlight, and others from something unknown. It's crazy to me that scientists still have so much to research about cancer, as the article brings up how we don't know the "something" that caused the quintet GTCCA in DNA of the cancer cells to change to GTTCA. The cancer also seems to puzzle scientists because it is stable. I turned my head when reading that most of its mutations are neither beneficial nor harmful, for I would have thought that through natural selection and evolution beneficial mutations would occur. However, Adrian Baez-Ortega suggests that it may not need to adapt anymore. I find this concept intriguing, for I thought organisms are always constantly adapting as our earth changes environmentally and technologically. As we attempt to cure the most deadliest cancers, perhaps we will compare CTVT with cancers amongst humans to look for answers.
The article I chose to read this week was “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness”. I chose this article because I’m interested in any biotechnology related articles. Also, I remember learning a little bit about CRISPR in Honors biology class. The article informs us about a type of eye disorder that is caused by a mutation in a gene that affects the function of the retina in the eye. It is a “form of Leber congenital amaurosis, one of the most common causes of childhood blindness that affects about 2 to 3 newborns out of every 100,000”. Researchers think that by using CRISPR, they can correct the mutation. CRISPR is a tool that has the ability to precisely edit DNA in a specific spot. Researchers will use an injection to send the treatment to the light sensitive cells in the retina. There are 18 patients, both children (ages 3 and up) and adults, that are willing to be part of the trial. I really hope the researchers are successful in their trial. Also, it’s really nice to see this generation using technology in a unique way for the benefit of patients. Many years back, blind patients would have no hope and would think that they will never be able to see again. But, now we are able to give them some ray of hope that they can also be cured and will be able to see again. I hope that in the future if I pursue a career in biotechnology, I will be able to assist in creating equipment or treatments to many diseases and illnesses in the world.
This week I choose to comment on the article “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness”. I have always been interested in gene editing. The idea that we could change our genetic code seemed impossible to me. Then, in 9th grade, I did a project on CRISPR. It amazed me that such advanced technology, one that could hopefully eradicate cancer, was not used on humans. It pleases me to see that CRISPR is finally being used on humans. The article states that CRISPR is being used to treat a form of Leber Congential Amaurosis, the leading cause of childhood blindness. Blindness is caused by irregularities in the retina, the part of your eye that absorbs light.The article goes on to state that 18 test subjects will be involved in this expirement. If this works, we could largely reduce the amount of blind children in the U.S.
After reading all these articles, I had found the article "Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color...," the most interesting. This is because I was very surprised as wasn't aware that caterpillars had the ability to mimic the form and even color to match the background. Researchers had also discovered that the genes needed for vision were present not only in the eyes but also the skin of the caterpillar. Other animals such as chameleons, cephalopods, and certain fish have the ability to camouflage by adapting their color to their surroundings. They can perceive color as stated in this article. One of the major problems for animals is to prevent any approaching predators. To avoid these predators animals have evolved camouflage to not be detected in the area. This study done by researches help improve our understanding of the different adaptations formed by several species and to prevent predation.
After viewing all three articles, I found the article titled “Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background”, the most interesting. It is fascinating to fathom the thought that peppered moth caterpillars are able to see not with eyes, but through their skin. It is surprising to think that when an experiment was done, caterpillars that were blindfolded still changed their body color according to their background. This left me wondering how these caterpillars were still able to do this, without using their eyes. According to the article, this is because the genes that are required for vision were also expressed in the skin of the caterpillars. I was also quite amazed when I read that the blindfolded caterpillars were able to pick up a branch that matches their color by sensing it with their skin. This is best explained by the vision genes expressed in the head, eyes, and skin of the caterpillars. This color sensing was probably a result of some form of natural selection, as briefly explained in the article. Natural selection favors traits that helps an organism’s survival. As stated in the article, the caterpillars probably acquired this trait over generations since it could have benefitted them. Caterpillars that could sense colors may have been eaten less by predators such as birds. This article gave me insight which allowed me to gain knowledge on the various means of vision in our biodiverse world.
The article I decided to read this week was "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness." This article caught my attention because I am interested in learning about new biotechnology discoveries. This article informs me about an eye disorder that causes blindness. This eye disorder is caused by a gene mutation that "affects the function of the retina, the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye that are essential for normal vision." This condition is a form of Leber congenital amaurosis, which causes blindness in 2 to 3 newborn children out of 100,000 newborns. This new technology founded by researchers called CRISPR precisely edits the DNA in specific locations, thus correcting the mutation and getting rid of the disorder. Another interesting fact about this technology is it can't be passed down to their offspring if the edit is made in the children and adults. But if the edit is made in the embryo, it can be passed down to their offspring. This treatment will be delivered directly to the light-sensitive cells through an injection. The trial of this technology enrolls a "total of 18 patients, both children (ages 3 and up) and adults." It is amazing how this technology protects people's morals and laws, and not used in a way to harm people.
I found the article, “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness” to be very interesting. Researchers use CRISPR to fix a mutation known as Leber congenital amaurosis, which causes childhood blindness. It intrigued me that such advanced technology, one that could hopefully eradicate cancer, was not used on humans. It is pleasing to me to see that CRISPR is finally being used on humans. CRISPR has been allowed to be used in the United States. It is to be used on a condition that affects the retina leading to abnormal vision. The trial will be done on a total of eighteen patients. Compared to this study there was a controversial study done by a Chinese scientist who used genomes on twin babies. The difference between the two trials are that the trials done in the US can not be passed down to later offspring.
I read the article "CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness" and I found the concept fascinating. I have long been following the research on CRISPR and its uses in modern genetics and the idea of being able to cut out a gene and put something else in just seems like a solution that can change the way we view science. This article gives an overview of the first time CRISPR is being implemented on humans. The author mentions a previous study done by a Chinese student on twin babies did not produce a fruitful result. At first, that would seem to be able to diminish all hopes on this technology, but this study is a new venture that will hopefully produce some kind of result, even if it is not a cure for Leber congenital amaurosis.
The article that interested me this week was the CRISPR gene editing article since we have discussed it previously in 9th grade. This article explains how they are going to try to treat a genetic disorder of blindness, by changing the gene sequences so It codes for healthy eyes. This disorder affects the retina, which is needed for normal vision. It is going to be done by injecting the treatment right to the retina, and this trial is going to be tested on both children and adults. However, unlike the genetic edits made by the Chinese scientist who edited the genomes of twin babies, using CRISPR, these edits will not be genetic and cannot be passed down to offspring.
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This week I decided to read the article, “CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness.” I found this article to be interesting because this technology is revolutionary and could also be the cure for many other diseases, other than blindness. I learned that people with this condition have a mutation in their genes which affects the function of the retina, the sensitive cells at the back of the human eyes. This condition, which is known as Leber congenital amaurosis, is one of the most common causes of childhood blindness. Hopefully, the CRISPR Gene Editing will be effective and cure this disease. I learned that the gene-editing CRISPER is a tool that allows researchers to edit DNA in a specific place(where it needs to be edited). Doing so, they will remove the area of DNA which causes the disease, blindness. Hopefully, this gene-editing will be used to cure numerous other diseases like cancer.
I decided to read the article,"CRISPR Gene Editing Will Be Used Inside Humans For the First Time in Treatment for Blindness" as it seemed really interesting. CRISPR editing is revolutionary in that it can be used to treat diseases by changing genes. Blindness is a perfect first test with this technology since blindness is a condition in which a mutation in the gene affects the function of the retina. It is also one of the most common disease which affects two to three newborns out of every 100,000. Using CRISPR, scientists could edit out the mutation which in turn would cure the blindness allowing the child to see.CRISPR will advance in the future to treat many more diseases, but right now, this technology could be used to give kids their visions allowing them to experience a beautiful life
After reading “The Disturbing sound of a Human Voice”, it has come to the realization that the human to nature contact is nothing but harmful to animals in their natural habitat. When a person goes into the woods, hiking, observing the wildlife, taking pictures, or even just enjoying the serenity, they are not alone. There are thousands of species of animals that live hidden in nature, from birds, to wild dogs, to tiny rodents that crawl beneath the soil. Every animal, more specifically humans hold a specific scent, make specific sounds, and create changes in a natural environment that were once untouched. The simple sound of a human voice can travel miles, traveling into the ears of many animals. These animals become aware of the unfamiliar sound, becoming jittery, and nervous. These animals may run, flee, and stop eating in order to remain hidden and protected. This creates a disturbance in the food web. Even the most gentle, calm voice creates this disturbed environment, known as the “landscape of fear”. This term has been supported by multiple trials and experiments on how animals react to human presence in natural environments. These studies have also proven that humans are classified as “super-predators”. We are the most feared species on the planet, holding the ability to prey on almost every species known to man, with the help of modern technology. The solution to this is not to isolate humans from nature entirely, but to limit the intrusion of humans and recreational activity in areas highly populated with animals.
The article I chose is “Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background.” This reading identifies that caterpillars of the peppered moth can detect the color of their surroundings by using their skin and are therefore able to camouflage into backgrounds even if they cannot see colors. This is quite a strange discovery because insects are typically able to perceive things such as light from their skin, but not color. To solve this question, scientists at Liverpool University and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology took three different approaches to figure out how this is possible. Firstly, they painted black acrylic paint on the eyes of caterpillars of the peppered moth to see if they would adjust to the color of their background. Amazingly enough, the blinded caterpillars adjusted just as well as the caterpillars that could see. Secondly, scientists conducted behavioral experiments in which they gave options for caterpillars to lay on different colored twigs. Each time, the caterpillars chose the twig that was closest to their skin color. Last but not least, the researchers decided to investigate where the caterpillars had a sense of vision. The results show that other than the head and eyes, all skin segments also had forms of vision, which explains their ability to change color without seeing color from their eyes.
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