Vasopressin knockout hamsters bite and attack, “we don’t understand as much as we thought we did”

[ecstatichamster]

Scientists create super-vicious hamsters after lab test goes wrong

Scientists accidentally produced a group of rage-fuelled hamsters after a lab test went sensationally wrong. The gene-edited rodents began to chase, bite and pin each other down

www.dailymail.co.uk

They key hormone Avpr1a was thought to regulate friendship and bonding, with its removal expected to increase harmony between the animals.
Instead, the lab experiment recorded 'high levels of aggression towards other same-sex individuals'.
Professor Albers said: 'We were really surprised at the results.'

CRISPR is a gene editing technique in which scientists can 'snip' a section of someone's DNA
To investigate further, scientists deactivated Avpr1a, removing a receptor that interacts with vasopressin in key regions of the brain.
Now immune to the hormone, it was thought the rodents would become friendlier.

The results were anything but, with a heightened frequency of fighting, biting, chasing and pinning down among the hamsters in their cages.
The study's striking conclusions challenge scientists' understanding of the relationship between biology and behaviour.
The professor added: We don’t understand this system as well as we thought we did.

'The counterintuitive findings tell us we need to start thinking about the actions of these receptors across entire circuits of the brain, not just in specific brain regions.

'Developing gene-edited hamsters was not easy. But it is important to understand that the neurocircuitry involved in human social behaviour and our model has [...] relevance for human health.'

Professor Albers said the gene editing tests are intended to help find solutions to neuropsychiatric disorders including autism and depression.

 

[ThinPicking]

Scientists create super-vicious hamsters after lab test goes wrong

Scientists accidentally produced a group of rage-fuelled hamsters after a lab test went sensationally wrong. The gene-edited rodents began to chase, bite and pin each other down

www.dailymail.co.uk

They key hormone Avpr1a was thought to regulate friendship and bonding, with its removal expected to increase harmony between the animals.
Instead, the lab experiment recorded 'high levels of aggression towards other same-sex individuals'.
Professor Albers said: 'We were really surprised at the results.'

CRISPR is a gene editing technique in which scientists can 'snip' a section of someone's DNA
To investigate further, scientists deactivated Avpr1a, removing a receptor that interacts with vasopressin in key regions of the brain.
Now immune to the hormone, it was thought the rodents would become friendlier.

The results were anything but, with a heightened frequency of fighting, biting, chasing and pinning down among the hamsters in their cages.
The study's striking conclusions challenge scientists' understanding of the relationship between biology and behaviour.
The professor added: We don’t understand this system as well as we thought we did.

'The counterintuitive findings tell us we need to start thinking about the actions of these receptors across entire circuits of the brain, not just in specific brain regions.

'Developing gene-edited hamsters was not easy. But it is important to understand that the neurocircuitry involved in human social behaviour and our model has [...] relevance for human health.'

Professor Albers said the gene editing tests are intended to help find solutions to neuropsychiatric disorders including autism and depression.

Fascinating, thanks for posting it.

I'm still trying to figure this out in myself but fluid balance/dynamics (inextricably linked with osmolytes) definitely have profound behavioural effects. Dare I say it also profoundly influences others perception of me. It's a hard thing for an individual to notice let alone document.

Along the same lines I found this recently. It's not very well written but makes some interesting points.

Thirst – Too much or too little (Polydipsia and Hypodipsia) Vasopressin and Angiotensin

Thirst – Too much or too little (Polydipsia and Hypodipsia) Vasopressin and Angiotensin

epiphanyasd.blogspot.com

Some more light reading on the subject from this morning here. It's well known among RPF members that salt induces body water conservation and diminishes thirst (I think of this as building/conserving structure) but this experiment is particularly interesting for its inclusion of a condition involving a high salt diet and saline fluid consumption.

High salt intake reprioritizes osmolyte and energy metabolism for body fluid conservation

Natriuretic regulation of extracellular fluid volume homeostasis includes suppression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, pressure natriuresis, and reduced renal nerve activity, actions that concomitantly increase urinary Na[+] excretion and ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Salt related entries on this nephrology blog are also fascinating.

Does increased Sodium intake truly cause increased Water intake? — NephJC

Follow us as we burn down everything you love about renal physiology. Oh, and learn how cortisol regulates urine volume.

www.nephjc.com

Man alive. This subject is complicated.

 

[haidut]

Scientists create super-vicious hamsters after lab test goes wrong

Scientists accidentally produced a group of rage-fuelled hamsters after a lab test went sensationally wrong. The gene-edited rodents began to chase, bite and pin each other down

www.dailymail.co.uk

They key hormone Avpr1a was thought to regulate friendship and bonding, with its removal expected to increase harmony between the animals.
Instead, the lab experiment recorded 'high levels of aggression towards other same-sex individuals'.
Professor Albers said: 'We were really surprised at the results.'

CRISPR is a gene editing technique in which scientists can 'snip' a section of someone's DNA
To investigate further, scientists deactivated Avpr1a, removing a receptor that interacts with vasopressin in key regions of the brain.
Now immune to the hormone, it was thought the rodents would become friendlier.

The results were anything but, with a heightened frequency of fighting, biting, chasing and pinning down among the hamsters in their cages.
The study's striking conclusions challenge scientists' understanding of the relationship between biology and behaviour.
The professor added: We don’t understand this system as well as we thought we did.

'The counterintuitive findings tell us we need to start thinking about the actions of these receptors across entire circuits of the brain, not just in specific brain regions.

'Developing gene-edited hamsters was not easy. But it is important to understand that the neurocircuitry involved in human social behaviour and our model has [...] relevance for human health.'

Professor Albers said the gene editing tests are intended to help find solutions to neuropsychiatric disorders including autism and depression.

More than anything else, this study and the few other that came before it in regards to CRISPR, demonstrate that gene editing is a disaster and should probably be banned for the foreseeable future, even in animals. We have no idea how "simple" changes to even a single gene ripple across the entire genome and proteome. If the GWAS studies are any indication, the relationship/graph between genes is ALL-TO-ALL (fully connected graph), and as such discussing "simple" gene editing in the context of removing/adding this/that gene to cure a single disease or affect a single/limited feature of character is such homicidal/suicidal lunacy that it defies the imagination. But with everything else going on around us, it is not at all surprising. Big Pharma needs a new "wild west" to conquer and gene editing is all the rage now.
Even if CRISPR does not create another Frankenstein, turning the West into a playset for "I Am Legend", the conclusions drawn from such studies are likely to be very limited in their utility for health purposes. The behavior/reactions of mutants in experiments are highly unlikely to be directly transferable to normal humans.

 

[ThinPicking]

More than anything else, this study and the few other that came before it in regards to CRISPR, demonstrate that gene editing is a disaster and should probably be banned for the foreseeable future, even in animals. We have no idea how "simple" changes to even a single gene ripple across the entire genome and proteome. If the GWAS studies are any indication, the relationship/graph between genes is ALL-TO-ALL (fully connected graph), and as such discussing "simple" gene editing in the context of removing/adding this/that gene to cure a single disease or affect a single/limited feature of character is such homicidal/suicidal lunacy that it defies the imagination. But with everything else going on around us, it is not at all surprising. Big Pharma needs a new "wild west" to conquer and gene editing is all the rage now.
Even if CRISPR does not create another Frankenstein, turning the West into a playset for "I Am Legend", the conclusions drawn from such studies are likely to be very limited in their utility for health purposes. The behavior/reactions of mutants in experiments are highly unlikely to be directly transferable to normal humans.

Hear, hear!

But while pharma is chopping at the block for a real life Soma, we might be able to learn something more natural from their screwups.

 

[ecstatichamster]

More than anything else, this study and the few other that came before it in regards to CRISPR, demonstrate that gene editing is a disaster and should probably be banned for the foreseeable future, even in animals. We have no idea how "simple" changes to even a single gene ripple across the entire genome and proteome. If the GWAS studies are any indication, the relationship/graph between genes is ALL-TO-ALL (fully connected graph), and as such discussing "simple" gene editing in the context of removing/adding this/that gene to cure a single disease or affect a single/limited feature of character is such homicidal/suicidal lunacy that it defies the imagination. But with everything else going on around us, it is not at all surprising. Big Pharma needs a new "wild west" to conquer and gene editing is all the rage now.
Even if CRISPR does not create another Frankenstein, turning the West into a playset for "I Am Legend", the conclusions drawn from such studies are likely to be very limited in their utility for health purposes. The behavior/reactions of mutants in experiments are highly unlikely to be directly transferable to normal humans.

Entirely 10000%. Yes.

 

[Healthseeker]

Cool study. Was they like rage zombies. Like in that one movie Serenity

 

[yerrag]

May already be in beta in USA schools.

 

[haidut]

May already be in beta in USA schools.

Not just schools. Since the DNA incorporation of the spike protein is now a given, X% of the general population is now mutant. May explain partially this other recent thread about increase in violence posted by @ddjd I don't claim that all those people in the mobs are mutants. Rather, maybe one was a mutant and provoked the violent outburst and then crowd mentality kicked-in.

Klaus Schwab: “We have to prepare for an angrier world.”

Call me crazy but I am seeing a HUUUGE uptick in social media videos capturing outbreaks of violence and rage. There's something going on and it feels very very sinister. Klaus Schwab says we will all have microchip implants within the next ten years (imo they're already in those clot shots)...

raypeatforum.com

 

[yerrag]

Not just schools. Since the DNA incorporation of the spike protein is now a given, X% of the general population is now mutant. May explain partially this other recent thread about increase in violence posted by @ddjd I don't claim that all those people in the mobs are mutants. Rather, maybe one was a mutant and provoked the violent outburst and then crowd mentality kicked-in.

Klaus Schwab: “We have to prepare for an angrier world.”

Call me crazy but I am seeing a HUUUGE uptick in social media videos capturing outbreaks of violence and rage. There's something going on and it feels very very sinister. Klaus Schwab says we will all have microchip implants within the next ten years (imo they're already in those clot shots)...

raypeatforum.com

Order out of chaos.

That's just one way to get there to OOOC.

Wouldn't call this journey fun.

 

[Healthseeker]

Yeah but it doesn't make solid sense cause even regular herpes leaves permanent trace in human genome. Government would just design the virus to mutate us, wouldn't bother with a vaccine unless it was a test or joke

 

[yerrag]

Yeah but it doesn't make solid sense cause even regular herpes leaves permanent trace in human genome. Government would just design the virus to mutate us, wouldn't bother with a vaccine unless it was a test or joke

So a virus would do it then? So you believe viruses exist. Not only that, but that the government (an evil one no doubt) can make a virus that will so easily overcome our immune system and implant its evil genes like an ice cream can be embedded with marshmallow and chocolate bits to make a rocky road.

You're joking aren't you? As you're saying our microbiome, which consists of more bacteria and other microbes than the cells in our body, would just be so defenseless against an invading biological entity that hasn't been thoroughly tested by millennia of evolution as the microbiome in our body has.

Okay. I believe you.

 

[Regina]

Beyond our ‘ape-brained meat sacks’: can transhumanism save our species?

The 21st century will be make or break for humanity, says Oxford University transhumanist Elise Bohan. If we get it right, she thinks we might find something better

www.theguardian.com

 

[yerrag]

Beyond our ‘ape-brained meat sacks’: can transhumanism save our species?

The 21st century will be make or break for humanity, says Oxford University transhumanist Elise Bohan. If we get it right, she thinks we might find something better

www.theguardian.com

Thanks for that article.

Oxford. The Ultimate Talmudist University.

And seeing the hubris, I am elated.

In the Greek tragedy way.

 

[LLight]

Dare I say it also profoundly influences others perception of me. It's a hard thing for an individual to notice let alone document.

Interesting, could you expand a bit on it if this is possible please?

 

[aliml]

Vasopressin increases human risky cooperative behavior

Most forms of cooperative behavior take place in a mutually beneficial context where cooperation is risky as its success depends on unknown actions of others. In two pharmacological experiments, we show that intranasal administration of arginine vasopressin ...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Vasopressin enhances human preemptive strike in both males and females

The neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (AVP), which is known to modulate a wide range of social behaviors in animals, has been identified as a modulator of various negative responses to social stimuli in humans. However, behavioral evidence directly supporting ...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[ThinPicking]

Interesting, could you expand a bit on it if this is possible please?

Apologies for lack of reply to this. When I try to write this down it sounds so woo dude. In the midst I'm taking a break from using friends and acquaintances as lab rats to quantify their vibe in response to abuse of my own avatar.

I'll come back to the idea. It's not over