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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19785006
GM cows make 'low allergy' milk
A genetically modified cow that produces milk less likely to cause allergic reactions has been engineered by New Zealand scientists.
Up to 3% of infants are allergic to cows' milk in their first year of life.
The modified cow produced milk without beta-lactoglobulin - a whey protein to which some people are allergic.
The study has been labelled a "milestone" by one scientist, but some campaign groups say it raises ethical concerns.
There are important differences between a woman's breast milk and cows' milk, such as beta-lactoglobulin, which is found in milk from cows but not people.
The researchers, at AgResearch and the University Waikato in New Zealand, said: "It is not surprising that is constitutes a major milk allergen."
Interference
The instructions for making the beta-lactoglobulin protein are contained in genes in the cow's DNA.
Silencing the gene responsible for the allergenic protein Betalactoglobulin (BLG) is a clever approach to making cow's milk more palatable. But several difficult challenges stand between this achievement and a product that parents might feed to their infants.
The mystery of Daisy's missing tail is just one of those. It won't affect the milk obviously but it's the kind of flaw that may leave many people feeling uneasy - and anti-GM campaigners will highlight it.
Then the New Zealand scientists must try to breed from Daisy. Only by creating a herd will there be any chance of making this advance commercially viable. If - and there's no guarantee - she does produce offspring, all eyes will be on their milk to see if it too lacks BLG like that of her mother's.
The final test is public acceptance, easier in some countries than others, researchers once again questioning people's appetite for the fruits of novel science.
The scientists added extra genetic material to disrupt the manufacturing process using a technique called RNA interference.
The resulting calf was born without a tail, however, the researchers say that is "unlikely" to be because of the genetic modification.
It has not yet become pregnant and produced milk normally so the scientists used hormones to jump-start milk production.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers said: "All milk samples from the transgenic calf were devoid of any detectable beta-lactoglobulin."
They concluded the technique was an "efficient tool" for modifying livestock.
Prof Keith Campbell, from the University of Nottingham, who was part of the team that cloned Dolly the sheep said the test would be how long the genetic modification would last.
He said the researchers would need to show the effect lasted throughout the lifetime of each cow and was passed on through several generations.
He added: "It's very interesting and its another way of showing the technology can be pushed forward with potentially useful outcomes.
"There are zero risks in my opinion. If it was poisonous, the animal would be dead."
Bruce Whitelaw, a professor of animal biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This is notable since it represents one of the few RNA interference success stories in mammals.
"RNA interference has a long history of successful application in diverse species from plants to worm - this is the first spectacular report for livestock.
"Time will tell how widely applicable RNA interference will be in GM livestock - but this is certainly a milestone study in this field."
Pete Riley, from the group GM Freeze, said: "Before this goes any further, they need to establish what the cause of the defect in the calf was, as there is a possible link to the GM approach."
He said the depth of understanding about the role of genes and how they interact was too weak and that more basic research still needed to be done.
"We can learn a lot by looking at less complicated organisms than cattle," he said.
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WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic, anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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