Gene editing has made pigs immune to a deadly epidemic

The chart that shows how we'll get back to normal

Sponsored by VMware The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology How we return to normal 12.11.20 Good morning! Today: how gene editing has made pigs immune to a decades-long deadly epidemic, and the chart from Pfizer and BioNTech that hints at how we'll get back to normality. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Gene editing has made pigs immune to a deadly epidemic   When covid-19 began to race around the world, countries closed businesses and told people to stay home. Many thought that would be enough to stop the coronavirus. If we had paid more attention to pigs, we might have known better. When it comes to controlling airborne viruses, says Bill Christianson, “I think we fool ourselves on how effective we can be.” Christianson is an epidemiologist and veterinarian who heads the Pig Improvement Company, in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The company sells elite breeding swine to the pork industry, which for the last 34 years has been fighting a viral disease called porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome PRRS. The pathogen causes an illness known as blue ear, for one of its more visible symptoms. Once infected with PRRS (pronounced “purrs”), a sow is liable to miscarry or give birth to dead, shriveled piglets.  To stop PRRS, as well as other diseases, pig farmers employ measures familiar to anyone who has been avoiding covid-19. Before you enter a secure pig barn, you get your temperature taken, shower, and change clothes. Lunch boxes get bathed in UV light, and supplies are fogged with disinfectant. Despite the precautions, the virus can slip in. Once inside, it quickly spreads. Swift “depopulation”—i.e., culling—of the animals is the most effective way to get rid of it. In bad years, American pig farmers lose $600 million to PRRS.  Now Christianson’s company, which is a division of the British animal genetics firm Genus, is trying something different. Instead of trying to seal animals off from the environment, it’s changing the pigs themselves. At an experimental facility in the central US (the location kept secret for security reasons), the company has a swine IVF center and a lab where pig eggs are being genetically edited using CRISPR, the revolutionary gene scissors. Not only does the technique seem to work, but it also raises questions about whether CRISPR might be able to give humans inborn “genetic vaccines” against the worst infectious diseases they might encounter, too. Read the full story. —Antonio Regalado (This story is for subscribers only. You can sign up and read for as a little as $50 a year.) The chart that shows how we’ll get back to normal   What is this: This graphic, released by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, shows the difference in covid-19 infection rates between the people in their trial who got a novel gene vaccine and the others who got a placebo. The volunteers who were given a shot of placebo appear as the blue line. The ones who got a vaccine are in red. Each time either line jumps up, that’s when a new covid-19 case occurred. Yesterday, advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted in favor of emergency authorization for Pfizer’s covid-19 shot, and the data in this chart is a big reason why. The real significance: The chart dramatizes just how well vaccines against the disease can work and how we might get out of pandemic hell. Read the full story. —Antonio Regalado Fancy some fascinating weekend listening? Check out the latest episode of our podcast In Machines We Trust. It’s the first in a three-part series, all about how facial recognition is changing how we enjoy sports, hosted by award-winning reporter Jennifer Strong. It’s just 21 minutes long and you can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher—basically, anywhere you go to enjoy audio content. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + The cats are up to their usual Christmas tree tricks again.     + A long-standing bucket list item of mine: traveling on the Trans-Siberian railway.   + The discovery of a stunning new fifth-century mosaic suggests the dark ages weren’t quite as grim as we’d thought, at least initially.    + Britain is experiencing an archeological boom, thanks to all that lockdown gardening people have been doing. (NYT $)   + Rick Astley won Reddit this year.   + Have you secretly enjoyed not being able to see anyone this year? Then this house would appeal to you.    + Why is it just so satisfying to close all your browser tabs in one go? Sponsor Message Majority lean into digital transformation 75% of CXOs and IT Executives have accelerated their digital transformation as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Follow the lead of these digital pioneers by reading the latest guidance based on discussions with VMware's closest customers and partners. Learn key insights from our latest custom research studies on the state of global business and recommended critical actions for CXOs. Read the report. The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Logistics companies prepare to deliver holiday gifts—and vaccines 🎁 In short, UPS has a mammoth task ahead of it. (Axios)   + There were setbacks for both Australia and Sanofi/GSK’s jabs yesterday. (FT $)   + Russia’s big aim with its vaccine is to strengthen its influence overseas. (Wired UK)   + Christmas dies hard in America. (The Atlantic)   + The US is now seeing daily death tolls that exceed the 9/11 attacks or Pearl Harbor. (The Hill)  2 AI needs to face up to its invisible worker problem The industry is not going away—but we can change the way it works. (TR)   3 How Facebook profits from scammers Everyone wins… except, um, the users. (Buzzfeed)   + Facebook has been hit with another antitrust probe. (TechCrunch)   + Why it’s going to be so hard to prove the case against Facebook in the US. (NYT $)   + Antitrust litigation isn’t enough. Biden should go further. (Wired $)   + Instagram would be better off without Facebook. (The Verge)  4 The new US influencer capital: Atlanta Black creators have been overlooked for years. A new generation hopes to change that. (NYT $)   5 It’s fire season again in Australia 🔥 Just how bad could this one get? (NYT $)   + EU leaders have agreed to cut emissions by 55% by 2030. (Politico)   + How governors in the US are fighting for clean energy jobs. (The Verge)  6 Amazon’s new health band sounds bad  Creepily invasive, unhelpful and just downright… rude? (WP $)   7 The EU is funding some highly controversial biometric technologies And doing all it can to avoid scrutiny or criticism while it’s at it. (The Guardian)   + Some stores in England are quietly using live facial recognition on customers. (Wired UK)  8 The app that promises women can get rich selling used fashion online Spoiler alert: they do not get rich. (Wired $)   9 The UK’s railway operator uses a Prometheus-inspired cave-exploring drone  A classic example of how tech and science fiction feed off each other. (BBC)   10 The companies trying to recreate arcade gaming 🕹️ Pure nostalgia. (Wired UK)  Take the survey: The global AI agenda 2021. “The global AI agenda” is a five-year research program by MIT Technology Review, seeking to chart how enterprises are using AI technology. This year, covid-19 has led to unprecedented disruption, and this 10-minute survey focuses on how big data and AI will help forge a path toward recovery. We’re also interested in how businesses are reevaluating data privacy and citizen consent to AI practices. Take the survey now. Quote of the day “We never thought it would be used for something like this.” —Masahiro Hara, the inventor of the QR code, tells The Guardian he’s thrilled his invention is being used as part of efforts to prevent the spread of covid-19. Image credit: Top: SELMAN DESIGN Second: PFIZER | BIONTECH | NEJM Please send mosaics to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free Are you AI ready? Join us virtually | March 23–25, 2021 Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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