Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Science

Cow Clones With Human DNA 21

Posted by timothy from the only-fair-considering-the-post-office dept.
Valt writes "Over at Salon they have a interesting article on cow clones having human DNA. The cows are being genetically engineered to produce certain medicines in their blood and milk. Currently they produce 'immunoglobulins' ( disease-fighting human proteins), which are currently used to treat such maladies as tetanus and rabies. Nothing like a nice milk shake to cure a bad case of the rabies."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Cow Clones With Human DNA More

Cow Clones With Human DNA

Comments Filter:
  • Other scientists have already spliced human genes into animals in the burgeoning field of molecular
    pharming.
  • Perhaps care has to be taken not to promote Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Since this usually comes about when an animal eats it's own, and previously because they were feeding cow to cow. This time they may be feeding human to human, since the cows will contain human DNA?

    Not that they plan to use the cows for human food, of course... but what if an accident happened, and somehoe they got nitroduced into general cow populations?

    I know very little of this, but perhaps soneone in genetics can enlighten?

    • Will this make it easier... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by dpilot ( 134227 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2002 @07:12AM (#4060407) Homepage Journal
      for diseases to jump the species barrier?
    • Do you drink milk? Have you gotten Mad Cow Disease?

      Obviously the answer is no. Mad Cow and the related diseases in humans are thought to be caused by prions, simple proteins that are produced by your own cells machinery through alternative splicing of the RNA transcript. The prion is a promoter of the incorrect alternative splice and therefore, if you eat the brains of the infected person, you eat the prion and incorrect splicing begins in your brain too.

      So milk (or blood for that matter) with human proteins could be entirely harmless. It is *possible* to make proteins that would be harmful, but there are so many FDA tests and requirements that a drug must pass that it is unlikely there would be negative accidental consequences. The proteins they are harvesting from the milk are immunoglobulins, commonly known as antibodies, and are basically completely harmless to you anyway. later
  • There is currently a trial about this sort of thing happening over here in New Zealand.

    From what I know they are doing stuff with human genes and cows already, and are wanting the go-ahead to start using genes of other animals.

    There's a whole heap of crap about it here: http://http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ge

  • Ho-hum...I want it the other way around (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    How about some humans with cow dna? I hate it when I need to run to the store to get milk.

    And it would make women even more desireable.

  • They won't be making any milkshakes out of this milk. They'll be processing it to take the proteins out and put them into a medicine; this is just a cheaper way to produce the proteins than whats currently there.
  • Viagra in milk, but how would this affect the cows??
  • Be endless ways to fuck the man with this.

Slashdot Top Deals

He who has but four and spends five has no need for a wallet.

Close