Scientists have produced genetically modified chickens that appear to prevent the spread of avian influenza. Though the chickens can themselves become infected with flu viruses such as H5N1, say the researchers, they cannot pass on the virus to any other birds with which they come into contact.
The technique, if adopted commercially, could provide a new strategy to slow or prevent outbreaks of bird flu within poultry flocks, which would protect the health of chickens and also reduce the chances of viruses transferring to humans. Many flu viruses that infect humans, including the H1N1 strain behind the swine flu pandemic that swept across the world in 2009 and caused 6,000 deaths, start in domestic birds before transferring to mammals such as horses and pigs, and then ending up in humans.
Pretty obvious where this is headed…
Pretty obvious where this is headed… /// I agree but the same place I’m thinking of? As in the Chaos Theory of Jurassic Park? As in the balloon theory of fixing problems? As in the law of unintended consequences? As in War of the Worlds wherein the beasties/some beastie will find a way?
I can’t imagine how they change the genome of a chicken to make it “not a chicken” to the viruses, but “some” virus is going to like the new mutants and all hell could break out.
I’m against this playing of god. We shouldn’t play something that doesn’t exist. No good can come from this, except cheap “not really a chicken, I just lay eggs” mutation meat.
Why can’t we learn to eat the chicken feed and leave the chickens alone?
Is the sky falling yet?
Wow only 6000 total deaths from Swine Flu. This Avain flu must be really “dangerous”.
Red–imagine “preventative medicine.”
What a concept.
The linked article is a fair review stating they don’t know how the virus spread inhibition works. This article from New Scientist gives this unknown situation more emphasis:
http://newscientist.com/article/dn19974-engineered-chickens-cant-pass-on-flu.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
I don’t mind genetically modified foods or even individual genetic game playing “but” playing with a disease vector that interacts with man and has been the cause of plagues is somewhat worrying. At the very least, scientist recommending it should be made to lie and state that they understand the mechanism very well and that there are no foreseen risks because of the xyz safety guard? But then of what will androids dream?
“…the swine flu pandemic that swept across the world in 2009 and caused 6,000 deaths”
Six thousand deaths, out of nearly seven billion people. That’s well below any percentage that the drug manufacturers worry about for lethal side effects of their products. So why was it of such concern for a simple cold virus. More people die every year, in the US, from traffic accidents (In 2008 there were 37,261 people killed in motor vehicle crashes). The use of seat belts has greatly reduced such fatalities. But no one has as yet invented a vaccine against car crashes. So until that happens, I guess 37,000 deaths isn’t as impressive as 6,000. To institute a massive, taxpayer subsidized, inoculation program. And yet, in spite of this emergency program, there continues to be no need for a National Health Program, in the US. Just a National One-Contagious-Disease-At-A-Time Treatment Program. Kind of like how the taxpayer ends up fixing broken Banks.
# 4 bobbo, “they don’t know how the virus spread inhibition works.”
Obvious, really, Bobbo. They have mutated the chickens so they don’t sneeze!
# 5 Glenn E. said, “Six thousand deaths”
Even that figure is probably inaccurate. The symptoms of H1N1 are no different than any other flu. The only way to make sure of the causative agent is through expensive lab analysis. Those labs were seldom done. Patient dies of flu. There’s an H1N1 Flu epidemic. Ergo, the patient died of H1N1. Bullshit logic but, as Bobbo would say, easy peasy. Keeps the health department and the drug companies happy.
MODERATOR: Honeyman, why did you tag this a scam?
I immediately thought the same that Bobbo posted about the “chaos theory” thing from Jurassic Park.
When it comes to nature, never say never. There are a multitude of unknowns. Nature has a tried-and-true knack of finding a way to do things we haven’t thought of, or don’t understand fully.
You have mostly made my comments..
LETS ADD some..
this only works for a FEW problems..
I KNOW NATURE.. and there seems to be something STRANGE..its called FIGHT 1 thing and nature brings ANOTHER.
Anyone remember COWpox? Its related to Chickenpox.
its the idea that IF/WHEn you catch certain things when you are YOUNGER, then certain things WONT get you as you get OLDER..
I also find it entertaining that WE ARE TRYING to save every person from Dying, but we dont have enough food for about 1/4 of the world.
NOW you want to substitute AN IMPROVED CHICKEN.
Why NOT look at what the USA does to chickens for FOOD and eggs…then ASK about the plight of chickens.
It has been proven OVER AND OVER. Set humans in CATTLE PINS, in condensed AREAS, and SPIT(SP) happens. Spread them out and disease’s can be RESTRICTED and controlled.(almost).
But, What the hell is going on? all this hysteria over something that will KILL LESS THEN 0.01% of the populace. Then you wonder where the problems of OVER population and FEW jobs comes from. This is worse then KEEPING a dairy cow on its feet AFTER its MILK has dried up..and Pumping it full of chemicals to MAKE STUFF come out.
If we could figure out HOW milk is made, would we KILL THE COW?
# 10 ECA said, You really love to see the words rolling out from under your fingers. Too bad you do so from the cover of ignorance.
“Anyone remember COWpox? Its related to Chickenpox.” Well, actually, cowpox is more closely related to smallpox and it was experiments with the cowpox virus that led to the eventual eradication of smallpox. Maybe you think that was a bad thing? Actually, chickenpox is more like the herpes virus – you know, that scabby sore on your lip? In fact, chickenpox often recurs in your elder years as shingles.
“we dont have enough food for about 1/4 of the world” Citation, please? Most agencies agree there is enough food. The problem is distribution. We pay farmers not to grow food. We store food in great silos until we can find a use for it. We grow so much corn we’ve had to find other uses for it. No, there’s plenty of food. The problem is like Sam Kinnison used to opine: people insist on living where the food isn’t! Then we have to find some way to get it to them. It’s called logistics, ECA – may I call you E for Eeejit? The problem isn’t a lack of food, it’s a lack of money. We’ve got a few thousand tons of extra rice sitting in South Caroline? Okay, let’s send it to Eritrea. Assume the rice is free. Who’s gonna pay to pack it, ship it and distribute it?
Once, in northern Afghanistan, we received a huge shipment of rice from Taiwan. It was grown in the USA, shipped to Asia, repackaged and reshipped to Afghanistan. The shipment included a fairly large grant for my agency to buy trucks and hire people to deliver the rice. By the time it was cooked, this was probably some of the most expensive rice in the world. By the way, Afghanistan grows almost all the rice it needs. So these shipments of “free” rice only depressed the price of local rice and hurt the farmers.
#6,
Glen,
good points..
And we can ADD MORE.
NOT long ago, Eggs and chickens werent RAISED in 1-2 locations in the USA. They were farms around the country, to SUPPLY LOCAL production..
it also ADDED JOBS.
NOT long ago, Dairy cattle lived to be 7-10 years old..NOW its 5..AND long BEFORE cattle could/would live upto 40 years, on a FARM.
There was LESS computers DOING THE JOB, and more jobs.
It USED to be a CROP was ‘so many plants’ per bushel. NOW we can grow corn so TIGHTLY PACKED in the field, we gain 4 times the amount, and PAY AS MUCH. WE NOW pay more for organic corn, that SPREADS OUT and needs more room.
WE now grow Grains, THICKER then you can grow GRASS in your yard.
Farmers dont NEED tons of equipment, there are CORPS, willing to Gather the crops in a DAY, what USED TO TAKE a week. You have to make appointments for them to show up. MORE jobs gone.
The same goes for IMPORTED products. TONS are brought into the USA, and sold for MORE profit then in the past, then DUMPED..Next year, the same product appears in a NEW design.
I posted in Cage match a few things of interest, IF’ anyone looks for it.
If’ you think about it..the USA supplies about 30% of the worlds food. think of those numbers.
300,000,000 in the USA
4,000,000,000 in the rest of the world and we supply ABOUT 1,000,000,000 people with food. over 3 times the amount of food LEAVES the USA.
Do some research on Food as a weapon, on the net. there is some interesting things about it, and HOW the WTO uses it.
Farming is, but its vary nature, unnatural. While it is lovely to think that small family farms run by Mom and Pop would create disease free and environmental friendly practice that will result in a lovely green planet, the sad truth is that all types of farming is a battle against nature which nature will ultimately win. The best we can do is arm ourselves with everything we can and make hay while the sun is shinning.
14,
Ben,
but making enough food to feed HOW MANY?
The goods we GIVE/SELL to other nations tends to DUMP their market for HOME GROWN FOOD.
The farmers in those nations CANT DEAL with it..we walk in and HAND TONS of rice and wheat into the market. Farmers have no recourse except to find work in the cities/SLUMS.
Look at many of the larger cities and people Running to them for the cheap food.
in 1 generation, 10-20 years, NO ONE in the area remembers HOW to grow foods in those areas, and DEPEND on the imports.
They THEN have to find a way to PAY for them..which leads to INSTANT SLAVERY. Nations that were self sufficient, can NO longer Supply/create/remember HOW and WHAT to grow.
They THEN look to others((MONSANTO) look it up, what THEY DO).
Also, there is a TRAIL of mankind. the farmers have small problems that they deal with.. Insect/animals that Follow and FEED on those crops. Those pests are OUTSIDE the large cities. NOW they search and discover/find where the people are, and the FOOD. AND back we go..ANY large group of humans tends to create problems..both for THEMSELVES and from the pests that FOLLOW.
LETS not grow THEIR FOOD HERE, lets go out and HELP them start the farms up. SPREAD the distribution and making around.
I posted in Cagematch, a bit of an article. and its scary. THE USA spends more money to feed us CRAP and chemicals them to feed us the FOOD we export. A good estimate is that 80% of people in the USA have never drank REAL MILK. That MOST quick foods are generally FAKE CHEESE, fillers, colors, added flavor.
You would not believe WHAT McD’s does to make Chicken nuggets.
http://gizmodo.com/5659271/behind-the-chicken-goop-the-truth-and-science-of-chicken-nuggets
http://gizmodo.com/5662271/watch-six-months-of-a-happy-meals-eternal-life
Do you think the food we send to other nations is processed like the above links?
#15 Eej – You gotta get a line and stick to it. In one post you complain there’s not enough food and then, in another post, you complain about science expanding the food supply!
What are you? An anti-McDonalds zealot? We’ve discussed the non-perishable hamburgers before. At length. Those Happy Meal burgers and fries are simply too dry and sterile to visibly spoil. Throw on some lettuce and tomatoes. You’ll get your rot.
As for the McNuggets? Yeah. Looks and sounds horrible. Yet, it’s meat. A lot of people eat those things and I have yet to see anyone claim they got sick from them because of the composition. Even your link proclaims, if we’re gonna kill an animal, we owe it to eat as much of it as possible. We’re expanding the food supply.
So, make up your mind. Are you FOR feeding as many people as possible or AGAINST feeding as many people as possible?
Next, we’ll discuss how sausages are made. You better go finish your hotdog, first…
It would seem healthier to feed the Walmart sheeple some chicken made of wheat gluten instead. That would curtail the spread of diseases.
Into the landfill
Into the groundwater
Into the food chain
Into the grocery store
Into the kids
If that newborn kid does not shut her beak
I am gonna fry’er
Modifying chickens’ genetics, whether through breeding or more advanced methods like GM, has little to do with dumping rice on foreign markets. Keeping animals in concentration brings disease, and not just the modern over-stocked concentrations but all concentrations. At least according to Jared Diamond in “Guns, steel and Germs” peoples don’t generally get sick until they have agriculture and start concentrating animals (including people) in one spot. If we want to sustain a global population of more than a few million people, we need to farm and ideally find ways of farming that minimise illness and the disruption of ecological balances. We can’t do this without technology. To suggest that keeping animals captive and breeding them until they are like we want them to be (as we’ve done with swine, sheep, goats, cattle, poultry etc over centuries) is ‘natural’ but genetically modifying them is unacceptable is just knee-jerk reactions by people who fear change. I am not saying that Monsanto and the like don’t have the potential to inflict great evil on the world, but we can’t maintain the status quo and we have to find a ways of farming that won’t kill us in the next hundred years. Genetic modification is the best way of doing this, and if they can develop birds that be breaded, deep fried and served with chips without causing pandemics, then that is brilliant and should be applauded!
We just had an unspeakable tragedy here in Florida, oh the humanity:
[Those were genetically altered rubber duckies. – ed.]
Apparently these scientists have not heard about Charles Darwin.
Assuming this technique does work, one has to realize nature always adapts.
Antibiotics serve as a great example.
Alternatively, if it does stop the spread then immune systems may undergo a negative evolution and become weaker thus creating a new vector for attack.
Still waiting for the boneless chicken farm.
(beef and pork too, while they’re at it)
dittmv said “Assuming this technique does work, one has to realize nature always adapts.
Antibiotics serve as a great example.
Alternatively, if it does stop the spread then immune systems may undergo a negative evolution and become weaker thus creating a new vector for attack.”
Ultimately, nature will always win, we can only fight for our survival while we can. Superbugs or not, without antibiotics a lot of us would be dead now, or perhaps have never existed!
This is all part of the human reduction program to eliminate over population.
I may seem callous here, but I hope it works.
The British came to North America bearing smallpox infected blankets and it too care of the Indian overpopulation problem.
The Spaniards and the Portuguese took a more, uh, hands-on approach to spreading venereal disease across South America.
Now that there are no new lands to infect, we’ve got to do it ourselves to ourselves with our food.
“Live long will become a curse.
If only we could grow some food which would kill only the will to accountancy.
We might not care if our checkbooks really balance, but we would be spared the kinds of minds which deceive, lie, cheat and kill for the sake of a bottom line.
There is no food source that has not been genetically modified. Think about it.
Someday, all our food will be produced in the lab.
Nobody thought, salmonella kills more people than flu, let’s make a sam-resistant chicken.
Parts of the problem exist in,
HOW MANY animals did the WHITE MAN destroy in the USA to claim the land for farming.(over 1/2 or all the creatures)
Why do we grow over 10 times the food we need in this nation? It destroys the land.
WE Denude it of all its parts, then ADD artificially what was already there?
We over process, over Sterilize our foods.
Monsanto make SEED that will NOT grow a second crop. You have to buy and buy the seed each year. You cant reseed from what has already been grown.
Monsanto Forces you to sign a contract FOR their seed, and say you will not RESEED from the seed you just bought.(COPYRIGHTS)
Cross pollination, and adaption from MODIFIED SEED. this is a time bomb. if a mistake is made, it affects OTHER CROPS.
Over production CUTS CORNERS. we loose QUALITY to gain QUANTITY. making a market that differentiates for the RICH. Soon you will eat CRAP, as the rich eat STEAK.
Many farms and ranches, create mega tons of food. But the market can only handle so much. WE cant even get the EXCESS to other countries that COULD/WOULD USE IT..without MONEY.(who asked about the super rich that control the world? Its always been the same, TRANSPORTATION and the sea.)
ECA: Read Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies is a 1997 by Jared Diamond (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel). There is a number of interesting points he makes. One them is that anywhere in the world that humans have gone, mass extinctions have followed (and not just the WHITE MAN either). Another point he makes, which others on here have also made, is that all farmed good has been genetically modified.
Ben,
Another topic you should read.
and has been written about.
Search for Food as a weapon.
And bypassing the idea that NATURE created most of these plants over millennia, and that MANKIND can do a better job, is abit strange.
Think of it like this.
MANkind survived only in areas they could get GOOD nutrition. Even if they had to find specialized plants, that would grow in certain areas, NATURE created them over time. The mistakes FAILED and DIED. what was left is WHAT survived.
If the bugs and Rats/mice wont EAT IT, should YOU?
Lets look at 1 type of business..BEER.
HOME made beers MIGHT LAST(before they are stale) about 2 months.
Companies MAKE beer last as LONG AS POSSIBLE.. about 6-12 months. which is funny. AS IF’ the beer was being Drunk/drank it wouldnt LAST that long on the shelf. Is it any cheaper to ADD to the beer to make it last longer? is the beer any better then what Ben Franklin had(Beer is the bread of life)?
They do the same with MOST products at the store. YOUR BREAD will last over 1 month on the cabinet, NOT 2 weeks as it was. there is NO DAY OLD BREAD, its over 1-2 weeks OLD.
ECA–are you right about beer? I thought its shelf life was because it was kept “clean” before canning/bottling? No pasteurization if that even applies to a fermenting process. Different with bread. I make bread and yes, it rots faster than storebought, but storebought actually has preservatives in it ((most brands-not all)).
Beer: water, hops, barely, yeast, refrigeration. Ben Franklin: dirty vessels, same ingredients, room temperature. Modern beer may or may not taste the same as Ben Franklin’s beer but to be sure its tastes “the same” every time you drink it–not true with Ben.
Just asking.