Hello friends!!! It is time to discuss a most sciencey episode, OBspec7! With so much wonderful stuff, let's get right into it!
First things first: the mice! Why in the world does Cosima need a bunch of mice? Well in OBspec6 she learned that Casey's sequence has gene therapy potential. So the next step is to figure out if the sequence will have any affect on her and the clone sickness! And of course, in the world of science, nothing is used on humans before it is tested on a model system, so Cosima now turns to the mice.
Mice are commonly used to study human diseases, so they are a natural choice for Cosima and her autoimmune disease. How will she go about testing this? Well the first step now that they have the sequence is to create a way for that sequence to get into cells and be incorporated into the genome. This is most often done using a viral vector. The sequence is spliced into an inactivated viral genome, which can be easily taken up by cells. The viral mechanism will cause the sequence to be taken up by the cells that are 'infected' with the vector, causing the cell to express the target sequence.
Once the vectors are ready, it's on to the mice. First, all the mice will be induced with the clone disease, by injecting Cosima's sequence into their genome. If all goes as plans, the mice should start to show similar symptoms: polyps in the uterus, and lungs, respiratory issues, etc. Then come the tests; Cosima split the mice into three groups: Castor vector, Leda vector, and control. The control group will get injected with just the vector and no sequence, to test the effects of the vector, make sure there are no side effects associated with the gene therapy, and work as a baseline. The Leda vector group would get a version of the Leda sequence (most likely Sarah's because they already have it) to test effects of incorporating a sequence using the vector, and work as a separate control. The Castor vector group will get injected with Casey's sequence, and will work as the drug group, testing the effects of the therapy on the mice, and hopefully showing improvements.
And if that wasn't enough science for you, we also dropped the vaccine bomb! The ID tags, fast healing, and infertility aren't the only synthetic sequences in the Leda genomes. They also have built in vaccines! All the vaccines mentioned are basic vaccines that hospitals administer to babies at birth, or throughout the first few years of life. What is the point of having them built in to the genome? Well, no need to worry about boosters throughout their life, and lower chance of side effects (which can occasionally occur because many vaccines are just inactivated versions of the virus).
But low and behold, we have seen these built in vaccines do in fact have side effects. Enter Charlotte, the only survivor of 400 attempts at a second generation, sporting a knee brace. What was one of the vaccines the clones have in their genome? Polio. And how does polio manifest itself? Asymmetrical paralysis of the limbs.
Well, well, well. It appears the synthetic polio vaccine, instead of being incorporated normally and helping build immunity in the second generation, instead caused the fetuses to develop polio, leading to fetal death in all but Charlotte, who still is faced with living with the effects of the virus.
There sure is a lot happening in the science world of OBspec! Will the gene therapy work on the mice, giving hope for a cure? What will Cosima do with this knowledge of the vaccines in their genome? And what else could possibly be in the Leda DNA? Stay tuned!