NGM JUNE 2025
XENOTRANSPLANTATION
 
Xenotransplantation, the use of animal organs in human recipients, could put an end to the organ shortage. Pigs were one of the first animals domesticated by our ancestors in the Fertile Crescent. And here we are 10,500 years later with the lowly pig, domesticated from the Eurasian wild boar, with its organs becoming human biomedical lifesavers. The pig’s transformation from food to organ donor was achieved through improved immunosuppressant drugs and advances in genome-editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9. CRISPR allows scientists to edit pig genes, which could cause rejection or infection, and add human genes, much more quickly and accurately than has been possible in the past. This could lead to a sustainable supply of organs. Other features in this issue include:
• Protecting Morocco’s Vanishing Oases – The mission to preserve the desert’s precious wetlands
• Beavers Battling Climate Change – What we can learn from nature’s industrious engineers
• Making Fashion Sustainable – A bold experiment to reimagine how our clothes are made