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SCIENTISTS IN CHINA have engineered monkeys with a human autism gene and symptoms, in the hopes of unlocking a treatment for the little-understood disorder, a study says.
The “transgenic” macaques behaved similarly to humans afflicted with autism, the team wrote – making repetitive gestures, and displaying anxiety and poor social interaction.
This meant they could serve as a reliable animal model for researching the causes of, and possible cures for, autism in humans – a feat welcomed by other specialists not involved in the study.
“Our findings pave the way for the efficient use of genetically engineered macaque monkeys for studying brain disorders,” the authors asserted.
Until now, animal studies of autism have relied mainly on lab mice — a species very far removed from humans in terms of genes, behaviour and physiology.
So the team led by Zilong Qiu of the Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai, created special test tube monkeys, giving them multiple copies of the MECP2 gene thought to be linked to autism in humans.
Surrogates
The monkeys were borne by surrogate females, and their behaviour studied as they grew up.
The researchers observed “an increased frequency of repetitive circular locomotion, increased anxiety, reduce social interaction”, among other behaviours.
One of the monkeys transferred the transgene to its offspring, which also displayed autistic behaviour — strengthening the hypothesis of a genetic root for autism, the study authors said.
Qiu said the team would now scan the brains of their monkeys to try and identifiy circuit deficiencies.
“Once we identify this brain circuit (problem) associated with the autism-like behaviour, we will use therapeutics such as gene editing tools… to manipulate this MECP2 transgene in the transgenic monkey,” he explained.
ASD
Humans can suffer a range of behavioural anomalies under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Often sufferers are unable or unwilling to communicate or interact with others, sometimes cripplingly so.
Some patients have delays in cognitive development, whereas others can have dazzling gifts in fields such as maths or music.
The brain structure of autism sufferers is different to that of other people, but the exact cause or causes remain unclear, though genetics are strongly implicated.
There is no cure, and behaviour therapy is the main intervention.
Other scientists hailed the study as an “exciting development”.
“Developing sophisticated animal models of autism has always represented a significant challenge for scientists,” said James Cusack, research director at the autism charity Autistica.
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Filthy animals, the people dumping their rubbish that is.
What’s a picture of the Minister for social protection or self promotion doing in front of this story.
Not proud of the thought, but have we become the litter capital of Europe. Just so bad here in Dublin..
I thought you meant the Dail for a minute?
…and put your garbage in a garbage can, people. I can’t stress that enough.
There is litter strewn from 1 side of this country to another in every town, village, ditch in the place. Nobody takes any pride in our place, and these same people then complain about rodent problems. Cause and effect? It’s up to everyone to take responsibility for their own litter. The sooner we all realise this the better. Its not up to the gubbernment to clean up after everyone.
Now they are multiplying more complex maths is next. It’s only a matter of time before they develop rudimentary computer skills and take over. Run I tell you.
What Mr O’Grady should be shouting about is why these filthy vermin are not prosecuted for dumping waste
We had a neighbour who fired her rubbish into a disused wheelie bin.. when it got too full she just threw it beside the bin.. and along came the rats.. horrible disgusting animals..
So let me get this straight…
- people refuse to pay to get their rubbish collected
- people then complain when rats start multiplying on piles of rubbish…
Then Councillor calls on Council, of which he is a member, to “do something”…
Shotguns, lots of shotguns.
Terriers …
C4
I thought this was just a load of exaggeration until I saw them doing The Siege Of Ennis outside the cathedral
Interesting rats do not sweat. Rats’ front teeth grow 4½ to 5½ inches each year and a pair of brown rats can produce as many as 2,000 descendants in a year if left to breed unchecked. Rats usually just live 2 to 3 years and are quite intelligent. My cat has reached retirement age and has given up hunting so I often see rats and they are definitely getting bigger.
Slightly disappointed that he didn’t mean literally.
“Some people are unwilling or unable to pay”
Hmmm !! Where have we heard that before.
From the poor who keep getting hit with charges by a Taoiseach who thinks the minimum wage for a single person is 35 k. per annum is where !
The 350 Irish HSBC bank account holders?
Dublin?
“estates in Killarney are ‘dancing’ on top of rubbish piles”???? That must be some sight
A kind of…Tops of the Towns….meets Chicago musical number…is what I’m imagining!!
I taught the Labour party conference Killarney ended weeks ago.?
Get down on it !
Get down on it !
How you gonna do it if you really don’t want to dance!!!!
Get your back up off the wall…..
I assume it’s the Kerry Polka they are dancing.
Thought the might be doing a slow set to Ben!
It will all be sorted after the next General Election when Independents like Healy-Rae will hold one of the big parties to ransom and get a load of stuff for Kerry at the expense of every other county.
Of course till then people could just take some personal responsibility and bin their own rubbish and pay for it to be taken away like the rest of us…
Put them in the Gondolas and they’ll be grand !
I’m sure there’s a Healy-Rea there somewhere willing to don his Pied Piper outfit (and a cap of course) and rid them for ever.
Get that rat catcher/killer from that city in Pakistan he’s doing it for feck all!
Are they not practicing the set dancing for the annual paddy’s day drinkfest? Shame on them ……must be foreign rats here to get our dole money and steal our jobs as plague spreaders !
I taught the Labour party conference in Killarney ended weeks ago?
Ha ha
I love Roland rat.
Haeeeeeeeeeeen! !
No complaints from them when they can field one of them at corner forward though, is there. One year out injured & they’re already turning on the coopers in the kingdom, short memories!
The semi-final replay was an absolute disgrace from a refereeing point of view – I lost all respect for Kerry Football that day !
Put the Paddy Cullen episode into a whole new light for me !
Joan burton and labour party must stayed there dancing around only thing there good at
I thought it was an old time waltz…
That rat looks so cute !
Surely that’s a good thing, another attraction to sell to the yanks…..
The first thing that shocked me when I arrived in Ireland was the refuse service. Maybe in Dublin it works better?
In France the garbage is collected every single day, by a public service, and the fee is ridiculously small compared to Ireland. If the garbage haven’t been collected for more than two days it is considered as a serious health and safety issue, and you can sue quickly.
When I saw garbage accumulating sometimes for one week or more without being removed, I just couldn’t believe it….
I immediately thought about the potential heaven for rats :(…. This is just not acceptable for a European country. And yet it’s very expensive for such a unacceptable standard! Something should be done about it.
The way people waste food these days, it is a wonder that rats can still walk?
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