To ensure cows have a better chance of survival in a future with intense climate change heat waves, scientists have successfully edited a bovine’s genomes using the popular CRISPR technique to change the animal from having black and white patterning to grey and white.
This novel approach hopes to improve the livestocks’ ability to survive in a changing climate environment. You can learn more about this particular cow and the genome editing process here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2256097-cattle-are-being-gene-edited-to-help-them-survive-climate-change/
As impressive as it might be, we can’t help but ask is this going to be enough to help their survival, and is it even the right approach to begin with? If the goal is to increase survivability, shouldn’t we want to reduce the carbon footprint? Perhaps reducing cows’ methane emissions would do more for us than changing the cow’s spot colors. We’ll be watching this space closely to find out what’s next.
Each month at Everment we contribute to our partner organizations taking on climate change. If you’d like to join us, please visit our website Everment.co to learn and contribute. Every little bit goes a long way in helping us achieve our climate goals.
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