Top 3 Articles of 2015

Tomislav Matusinovic

23. January 2016

Grade 9A Science

Top 3 Scientific News Stories of 2015


Articles discussed ;

1. Breakthrough gene editor

2. Scientists aim to fight malaria with genetically engineered mosquitoes
3. Cancer rates increasing

        2015 was full of news, and scientific discoveries. In this article, I will be discussing three articles that I found to be most important. The selection is entirely opinion based. I will be discussing the importance of the new gene editor (CRISPR), how scientists are fighting malaria using this tool, why cancer rates are increasing, and how we might see a cure for it soon.

The first article that I find significant is the improvement of DNA editing. A remarkable technological innovation has made the headlines in 2015. A scientific group has improved the technology of editing the DNA of organisms, making it much more efficient and reliable than before. The tool is called CRISPR. One particular group conducted an experiment where they edited the DNA of a pig, so that its organs are safe for transplantation to humans. As discovered earlier, organs from pigs are likely to cause infections when they come in contact with human organism, which then fails to fight against the virus. Pig organs such as the heart are very similar to human hearts, therefore the experiment was conducted on pigs. (1) The image below shows the similarity between the organs. In order to reduce these health risks, scientists had altered the DNA of pigs, creating organs that are safe for human transplantation. (T. H. Saey. Gene editing makes pigs safer for human transplants.Science News Vol. 188, November 14, 2015, p. 6.)

In 1996, a DNA experiment like such could take up to a year, but scientists came up with a way to conduct this experiment within days. 

1) Anatomy of a Human and a Pig Heart

The technology they used, CRISPR, works on a principle of an RNA

string where instead of creating individual proteins for each DNA cut, it creates an RNA. The RNA then guides an enzyme called Cas9 to the gene where the enzyme snips the DNA. By conducting this process they were able to make the process much more efficient. ( First described by Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin and colleagues) The technology of editing DNA could also be applied to other fields of science to help solve many health related problems, cure diseases and remove the possibility of birth defects in babies. These include mutations and illnesses seen within the DNA, such as autism, down syndrome, prostate and skin cancer and many more. (Saey, Tina Hesman. "Gene in Human Embryos Altered by Chinese Researchers." Science News. ScienceNews, 23 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Jan. 2016 https://goo.gl/DSn2SV.) 
Chinese researchers conducted an experiment on nonviable human embryos, resulting with partial success. The article claims that

“The editing molecules also altered other genes that the scientists hadn’t intended to touch. Such “off-target” editing and other unintended difficulties mean that the technology is not yet ready for clinical use.”(https://goo.gl/DSn2SV.) However, the unreliability of this experiment is not the only cause of disagreement amongst people. Many people argue that the process of genetically modifying an embryo is unethical and will therefore significantly affect the future generations of the family.

The second article that caught my attention was the possibility of curing Malaria. Malaria being one of the deadliest disease carried by parasites in the world, takes lives of 627,000 people per year. 109 countries worldwide are facing this issue, 45 of which are in Africa. Despite the high number of deaths, the disease also has a significant impact on the economy. According to NetsForLifeAfrica.org the disease costs Africa alone $12 billion in lost productivity. Malaria spreads through mosquitoes. When infected mosquitoes breed, their offspring are often born with malaria.

Female mosquitoes lay around 300 eggs at a time. The female “house”  picks a small puddle or the surface of a pond to lay her eggs. The eggs form a raft, which enables them to float. The process

of hatching is very quick. Within a few hours, a tiny “larva” escapes through the bottom of each egg and swims off. This larva then becomes a pupa.  The pupa becomes an adult, sheds its skin and flies off. (Seymour, Peter S. "Mosquitoes." Mosquitoes. New York : Macmillan Pub, 1984. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.)

With an estimate of one child dying each minute from malaria, the disease has gained a lot of attention. With the CRISPR technology being available to scientists, they were able to modify DNA of mosquitoes, making them resistant to malaria. The researchers targeted Anopheles. A type of mosquitoes that spread this disease. The image below displays an Anophele Mosquitoe. 

2) Anophele Mosquitoe

Anthony James and his colleagues identified a set of genes in mice that make them immune to “Plasmodium falciparum” a parasite that causes malaria in humans. However at first, the mosquitoes could pass on their malaria resistant genes to their offspring only about 50% of the time. On the other hand, a research team in San Diego built a gene drive that was far more reliable. They used the CRISPR system to modify fruit flies with a specific trait. The experiment was very successful, as roughly 97% of the fruit flies passed on the trait, rather than the predicted 50%. Inspired by the success the scientists focused on research regarding mosquitos. Instead of killing off the entire species of Anopheles, which would create a large hole in the ecosystem, they set out to create an anti-malarial gene drive from mice, which they inserted into 680 mosquito larvae. The results showed that 251 mosquitos from the sample survived to adulthood and mated with wild mosquitoes. Those pairings then generated 25,712 offspring, only two of which contained the engineered gene. (Netburn, Deborah. "Scientists Aim to Fight Malaria with Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.) The two samples were enough, as they bred with wild mosquitoes, producing around 6,000 offspring. This time around 99% of them had the anti-malarial genes. There is still a lot of work left, according to the scientists. “Among other things, they would have to be certain that the malaria-resistance genes spread reliably from each generation to the next. They’d also want to make sure that the people who would live among the mosquitoes were OK with them.”  

3) Life expectancy & The effect of age on cancer in the UK

The third article that caught my attention was the rapidly increasing cancer rates. With the new CRISPR gene editing technology, scientists are getting closer and closer to developing cures for other major illnesses, such as AIDS and cancer. Surprisingly however, according to the Cancer Research Institute of London, cancer rates are steadily increasing over time. Most patients diagnosed with cancer are over the age of 60. A pattern can be observed from the graph in the picture above where older people are getting cancer more frequently than younger people.

4) Life expectancy over time

We can observe that the global average life expectancy has increased by 20 years since 1960s. There is a link between old age and cancer rates. It is safe to say that as life expectancy increases, the cancer rates increase too. Scientists may be able to use the CRISPR technology to modify cells that fight against regular everyday diseases to fight cancer cells. As of 16th of February 2016, BBC published an article where this method was used. (http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35586834)  In this case, scientists modified the T-cells to start attacking incoming leukemia cells. Over 90% of the patients went into remission, however some patients died from an unusual immune system response. This process was only tested on leukemia, so it is unsure if it will work on other cancers too.

To conclude, the research regarding gene modification is significantly important for many fields of research. Diseases such as malaria, cancer and organ related diseases could be cured within the next decade or so. Even though gene modification is still a controversial topic, upon its improvement, it could benefit us greatly as a society.

Bibliography

Specific genetic disorders	http://www.genome.gov/10001204	Green, Eric D., PH.d. "Specific Genetic Disorders." Specific Genetic Disorders. National Human Genome Research Institute, 14 July 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Gene editing makes pigs safer for human transplants	https://www.sciencenews.org/article/gene-editing-makes-pigs-safer-human-transplants	Saey, Tina Hesman. "Gene Editing Makes Pigs Safer for Human Transplants." Science News. ScienceNews, 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Genomic researcher, and the creator of CRIPS technology	http://www.technologyreview.com/lists/innovators-under-35/2013/pioneer/feng-zhang/	Rotman, David. "Feng Zhang | Innovators Under 35 | MIT Technology Review." MIT Technology Review. MIT Technology, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Gene in human embryos altered by Chinese researchers	https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/gene-human-embryos-altered-chinese-researchers	Saey, Tina Hesman. "Gene in Human Embryos Altered by Chinese Researchers." Science News. ScienceNews, 23 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Malaria statistics and solutions	http://www.netsforlifeafrica.org/malaria/disease-transmission	"Malaria Statistics." Malaria Statistics. NetsForLife, 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Facts about mosquitoes	https://cougar.collegiate-va.org/lower/first/mosquitoes.htm	Seymour, Peter S. "Mosquitoes." Mosquitoes. New York : Macmillan Pub, 1984. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Scientists aim to fight malaria with genetically engineered mosquitoes	http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-genetically-engineered-mosquitoes-malaria-20151121-story.html	Netburn, Deborah. "Scientists Aim to Fight Malaria with Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Mosquito Facts	http://www.tinymosquito.com/mosquitofacts.html	"Tiny Mosquito." More Mosquito Info. Tiny Mosquito, 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Year in review: Breakthrough gene editor sparks ethics debate	https://www.sciencenews.org/node/191199?mode=pick&context=166	Saey, Tina Hesman. "Year in Review: Breakthrough Gene Editor Sparks Ethics Debate." Science News. ScienceNews, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Cancer statistics New cancer Treatment article	http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2015/02/04/why-are-cancer-rates-increasing/ http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35586834	Jones, Greg. "Why Are Cancer Rates Increasing?" Cancer Research UK Science Blog Why Are Cancer Rates Increasing Comments. Cancer Research, 4 Feb. 2015. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. Gallagher, James. "Excitement at New Cancer Treatment." BBC News. BBC News, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.