As temperatures rise and
the drought gets worse,
scientists in our own backyard are
dreaming up ways to make farming
and agriculture more efficient
and better for the environment.
And they're making their dreams come true.
To combat climate change with genetics,
man two has the story this
is Frodo. Frodo looks like your average cow.
But his biological makeup is different.
We've inactivated a gene that
contributes to fertility.
Researchers at UC Davis have a hypothesis
that the particular gene they've
knocked out will make Frodo sterile.
If correct, that identification will
help them in long-term efforts to
breed cattle with the best genetics.
This has been Professor Allison Van
Eneman's work for more than 20 years.
Genetics is a huge component
of sustainability.
So if we can have disease.
Resistance adaptable animals
that are able to withstand heat.
Then we could actually produce
more product with less animals.
And that's really what breeders
have been striving towards for.
Well, ever since animal breeding began.
Frutos genes were manipulated
using the CRISPR method,
a breakthrough technology that
won the Nobel Prize in 2020.
We use what's called a targeted
nuclease to make a double stranded
break in the DNA double Helix.
I can tell the the nuclease or the.
Scissors to go cut at a particular
location and I can tell it OK,
go to this gene and make a cut
there and when it repairs it'll
often inactivate that gene.
So it enables us to precisely inactivate
genes so we can test gene function,
which from a biological perspective it's
just like being let loose in a candy store.
Other UC Davis projects using the CRISPR
method include gene editing. Dairy
cows so they don't grow horns in majority
of cattle are dehorn to prevent injuries
between animals and handlers. We've
been collaborating on a project where we're
trying to use genome editing to remove
the horns from dairy cattle breeds so that
we don't have to physically remove them.
Dehorning cattle is a concerning
practice when it comes to animal
rights and welfare, veneman says.
Crossbreeding alone could eliminate
the horns, but the resulting calf
it's not really a dairy animal,
it's not really a beef animal,
and it won't have the ideal characteristics
for either industry, she says.
It would take decades to breed
the cows to dairy production.
Standards. While those standards
continue to climb, you'll never
catch up that what's called genetic lag.
When Eneman hopes targeted gene editing
can produce cows without horns and
without the time commitments needed
in conventional crossbreeding.
Would it be fair to say it's like a shortcut?
I think it would be fair to say it's
rather than relying on random mutation,
you're directing it so it's it's more
targeted I think is how I would put it,
though GENE mutations are a
natural occurrence under current.
Federal regulations targeted gene editing
has fallen under genetic engineering
or genetically modified foods and are
treated as animal drugs, Veneman says.
Bird is some regulations and
long standing public skepticism
around GMO's have prevented gene
editing science from advancing.
According to Pew Research,
48% of Americans say genetically
modified foods are unsafe to eat,
while a much smaller median
of 13% say GM foods are safe.
This is at.
Odds with a clear scientific consensus
that genetically modified foods are safe,
only one gene edited food product has
gone to market in the United States.
That's the Aqua advantage salmon.
And just this year the FDA cleared slick
coat cattle for use in the United States.
They are beef cattle that have been
gene edited to have short hair Detroit
that allows them to withstand high
heat as the climate continues to warm.
The FDA determined the edits were
equivalent to natural mutations.
We're in the biotech era,
and it's literally influencing
and revolutionizing.
Agriculture, medicine, everyday life,
creation of of of everyday
products and synthetic biology.
So it's revolutionary.
John Entine, founder of the
Genetic Literacy Project,
says Bioscience needs public
buy in to be successful,
which is why addressing
public concerns is important.
So there are challenges ahead
and we have to be respectful.
Many of the critiques of GMO's involve
monopolization of technology and
intended consequences, ethics and safety.
But signaling?
A possible pathway to more acceptance.
In September,
President Biden issued an executive
order to push more government dollars
to the US biotechnology industry,
drawing parallels to John F Kennedy's
1961 race to land a man on the
moon before the end of the decade.
Unwilling to postpone.
President Kennedy unwilling to postpone.
President Kennedy said a goal to win
the space race against Russia and
advanced science and technology for
all of humanity in Tyne and Veneman
says Biden's executive order cracks
opened the door for more innovation,
but they are cautiously optimistic.
I've also had 20 years of watching how
slowly the wheels turn in DC sometimes,
but any effort by the President or Washington
to try to improve the the process is.
Is welcome, but we can't let the
regulatory situation become mired in a
debate over just differences of opinion
that are not science based ultimately.