Here’s something non-political and uplifting for Rostra denizens to enjoy this Labor Day weekend: A story of how biotechnology has combined with conservation efforts at the San Diego Zoo to help two endangered species. I wrote about this story for the North County Times. Here’s a sample:
Two rare African animals, the nearly extinct northern white rhinoceros and an endangered monkey called a drill, may be snatched from the jaws of oblivion by a feat of biotechnology performed by scientists in North County and La Jolla.
The scientists have produced artificial embryonic stem cells from the highly endangered mammals, something they say has never been done before in endangered species. These induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPS cells, could potentially be used to create sperm and egg cells, and ultimately embryos and whole animals.
Two years ago, scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla reported they had grown healthy mice from IPS cells by turning the cells into embryos.
In the latest achievement, a separate group of scientists generated the IPS cells from skin cells stored in the “Frozen Zoo” at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in the San Pasqual area southeast of Escondido. The safari park has kept a few white rhinos for years.
Read the whole story by clicking here.