GM Cows can Produce Allergy-Free Milk

Nature has provided us with infinite sources, but with the issues concerning health taking a toll and resourcefulness of earth diminishing at squirrel pace, some things need to be cloned. It is this concern that has got the scientists to engineer a genetically modified cow that can produce milk, which will lessen the chances of contracting allergic reactions in humans. The modified milk, however, lacks beta-lactoglobulin, which is a major whey protein of sheep’s and cow’s milk; one that people are allergic to.

[Read: Milk Allergy Symptoms]

To modify the milk, the scientists added an extra genetic material to alter or disturb the manufacturing process with the help of a technique called RNA interference. The calf that was born as a result of the modification did not have a tail, which the researchers from the University Waikato in New Zealand say is unlikely to be a result of genetic modification. The calf had not started producing milk, so the researchers used hormones to kick start milk production. When all the samples of the transgenic calf were analysed, it was found that they were devoid of beta-lactoglobulin. The study was published in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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