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Turning Piglets Into Personalized Avatars for Sick Kids
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Turning Piglets Into Personalized Avatars for Sick Kids

A team of scientists wants to accelerate research into a genetic disorder by using CRISPR to copy unique mutations from affected children into pigs.

Ed Yong
The Atlantic, 2017
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Scientific
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Politicians and scientists alike often discuss personalized medicine as the future of heath care. Personalized medicine would mean that researchers could use a patient’s specific genetic make-up to develop a specific treatment. In an innovative approach, researchers work to develop miniature pigs with patient-specific genetic mutations. Award-winning science writer Ed Yong explains how researchers aim to utilize the gene editing technology known as CRISPR to help treat neurofibromatosis. getAbstract recommends this article to those interested in cutting-edge, gene editing technology.

Take-Aways

  • Neurofibromatosis type 1 is a genetic disease that results in tumor growth on nerve tissue.
  • Scientists need a model to study a disease and miniature pigs are one option.
  • Researchers can introduce disease-related genetic mutations into a miniature pig with the modern, gene editing technology known as CRISPR.

About the Author

Ed Yong is an award-winning science writer at The Atlantic and author of several books.

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