PigBoost tool will enable sustainable data-driven decisions to improve Uganda’s pig production, health, and welfare. Pig farming is one of the fastest growing livestock activities in Uganda and is a means of increasing food, income and employment. A new initiative aims to increase the productivity and profitability of pig smallholders in Uganda. The PigBoost tool will help improve decision making of farmers and thus performance...
Scientists are collaborating to develop improved breeding selection of small ruminants in tough conditions. Researchers are seeking to improve breeding of sheep and goats in challenging environments such as mountainous landscapes, in humid conditions or with poor foraging. The international project involving Roslin researchers aims to develop ways to apply genetic selection to improve resilience and efficiency in small ruminants. Hardy livestock Their approach may...
A common, chronic gut disease in ruminants will be the focus of a £1 million study. Johne’s disease has a significant impact on the health and welfare of ruminants. The ways in which bacteria cause a deadly gut infection in cows in the UK and worldwide will be the focus of a new study. Genes in the bacteria that play a role in Johne’s disease...
Breeding for goats resilient to climate change could be aided by a gene study.Resilience to weather changes is partly due to genetics. Some goats are not affected by weather changes, being more resistant to climate change than others, scientists found. Resilience to weather changes, or lack of it, is partly due to genetics, the study shows. The results could be used to further improve selective breeding,...
A partnership between the Roslin Institute and iC-biosolutions aims to accelerate veterinary regenerative therapies by producing ready-to-use stem cell preparations. The study will pave the way for more effective therapies for tissue regeneration in horses, at reduced costs. Increased efficacy Stem cells can undergo unlimited division to form other cells that can differentiate into specialised body tissues, playing an important role in veterinary regenerative medicine...
A new study recently published in the Journal of Virology has identified genetic changes occurring during the growth of lung cancer in sheep that improve understanding of how the disease develops. This could help lead to earlier diagnosis of the disease in sheep and in humans. Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma (OPA) is an infectious and deadly lung disease of sheep, caused by the Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus...