Posted on 05/24/2023 5:08:05 AM PDT by Red Badger
A CRISPR-alternative has been used to create eggs that are unlikely to trigger allergic reactions. That’s a potentially big deal for millions of children who are allergic to eggs — not just for their diets but also for their immune systems.
The challenge: Allergic reactions are caused by the immune system mistaking something usually benign, like peanuts or pollen, for a harmful invader. Depending on the severity of the allergy, this can lead to anything from a mild rash to life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Eggs are a pretty common allergy, with up to 2% of children experiencing a reaction to them. Most kids outgrow their egg allergy by the time they’re 16 years old, but until they do, they’ll need to avoid eating eggs and the many products that contain them.
People who are allergic to eggs are also at risk of experiencing a reaction to flu vaccines, which are typically grown in eggs — although rare, the shots can trigger anaphylaxis in a person with an egg allergy.
Eggs are a pretty common allergy, with up to 2% of children experiencing a reaction to them.
What’s new? Researchers at Hiroshima University in Japan have now used gene-editing technology to create chickens that lay eggs without ovomucoid (OVM), the protein most likely to trigger an egg allergy.
“These results … reveal that the eggs laid by this OVM knockout chicken solve the allergy problem in food and vaccines,” said lead author Ryo Ezaki.
How it works: Rather than using the popular gene-editing tool CRISPR to create the OVM-free eggs, the researchers relied on a different, older technology: TALEN (transcription activator-like effector nucleases).
While CRISPR is generally simpler and cheaper than TALEN, some forms of it are also more likely to affect parts of the genome beyond the target site. Such off-target edits could lead to mutant versions of OVM that might still trigger an egg allergy, so the researchers opted for a TALEN system.
The eggs the hens laid contained no regular or mutant OVM protein.
After engineering it to target the OVM gene, the researchers injected it into chicken embryos.
While DNA sequencing of the edited hens did reveal mutations that may have been off-target effects of TALENs, they weren’t in genes (regions of DNA that code for proteins), and the eggs the hens laid contained no regular or mutant OVM protein at all, or any other “evident abnormalities.”
Looking ahead: Given that even a small amount of OVM protein could be life-threatening for someone with a severe egg allergy, the researchers plan to perform more studies before claiming that their eggs will not trigger reactions if eaten or used for vaccines.
“The next phase of research will be to evaluate the physical properties and processing suitability of OVM-knockout eggs, and to confirm their efficacy through clinical trials,” said Ezaki. “We will continue to conduct further research toward the practical application of allergy-reduced eggs.”
Better get crackin’!...................
Why are the elites obsessed with messing with the food supply?
We all know why. None dare call it crimes against humanity.
And the yolks on you.
kids need to eat more dirt ....
I saw this movie the other night ... attack of the
GIANT CHICKEN
Seriously though.... I had a chicken that came from a broiler house.
It never stopped growing until the owl got him.
WAY bigger than a turkey.
Chickens grow to “eating” size in weeks now. It Should take months.
I wonder what they will get when they let one of these eggs hatch... and you know they will.
What could possibly go wrong?
The goal is NOT to help children, but to OWN the patent on these "new" chickens. Never mind the "off-target effects."
To corner a new market, you have to break a few.... people.
Meanwhile, US scientists are using CRISPR Cas9 on everything they can get their hands on, including food.
Our daughter’s first baby was allergic to egg. Took a while to figure it out, but eventual test results led to Mom coming off anything containing egg (it was being passed on thru breastfeeding)! Took a year off Hell for the kid to get over it...and now has egg from breakfast. The kid is also a well known 2.5 year old little international terrorist.
The good thing about these eggs is that there is absolutely no possibility that the CRISPR gene editing will do anything else to the chicken or it’s eggs that could have any negative impact on human health.
Literally a 0% chance of anything bad happening.
We are so lucky. What a time to be alive!
/s
Kramerica’s entire operation seems to consist of a single man with a messy apartment which may or may not contain a chicken.
Remember, the Chicken is involved, but the Pig is committed.
Humans have been eating poultry for eons. Now all of a sudden they think they can tinker with nature and make it better? I think we know where this will wind up.
Now, if they can just figure out how to make the pork kosher/halal, the world hunger problem will be solved...................
That Darren’s a real go-getter!
unless they gene-edit these special chickens to also produce egg shells dyed a special color, the possibilities of mixup with non-hypoallergenic eggs is nearly endless, as would be the lawsuits when such mixups inevitably occur ...
"What could possibly go wrong?"
.
Absolutely nothing, of course...
I think I saw this in a Japanese monster movie once. The chicken broke out of the lab and destroyed Tokyo.
Do (naturally) brown chicken eggs have thinner shells than white?
They certainly seem to.
If so, then WHY? Is this natural? Is it normal?
Are white chickens diets supplemented with calcium? Or something?
I mean - what's the real deal here, anyway? Eh?
Just asking.
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