Monday, November 12, 2012

Allergy-free cows!


Have you noticed that among the time passes by more and more people presents different strange illnesses? Well, milk allergy is one of those and not just because of lactose intolerance, but because a lot of people, especially children, is being affected by an allergy to a protein that is contained in cows’ milk. The mentioned protein is called beta-lactoglobulin and it is known for causing allergies in about 3% of children during their first year.

Now what would you think if I tell you that this situation may change thanks to a recent experiment led by some researchers from New Zealand; the experiment consisted in interfering the RNA of a cow, Daisy, to control and reduce the activity of some genes and, as a result, reduction of beta-lactoglobulin which turned to be in 96%, although new investigations look for a total elimination of it.

Besides helping not breast-feeded children to have a better quality of life, this process may be also very useful in preventing some typical infections and monitoring growing process of cattle.

I know some of you may think that this is just another gene manipulation and that men are going too far, but I think this could be a really life saver for some mothers that can’t breast-feed. If that was the situation: would you feed your child with Daisy’s milk?



2 comments:

  1. If you ask me, I tend to think that the creation of a cow with the special feature of producing free-allergy milk was not necessary. Why didn’t they simply create milk free of the allergy-causing protein? Although all kind of milk that scientist could create, human milk is the best food for human. We are not cows, so I don't know why we drink cow milk. If scientists create a cow that produces milk that children can consume without getting sick, why don't they create a human that produces human milk? But, wait! That is mothers work. In my opinion, mothers should try to breast feed their babies, not only because it is healthier, but also because it helps to establish an indestructible link between moms and babies that will remain in future. All women have milk to breast feed, but some of them just avoid this natural and beautiful job because it is painful for them. I don’t think I would feed my baby with that milk.

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  2. I agree with Paulina. Besides, there are producs in the market that are for people with allergies to lactose. If they manipulate the cows, then in the future they may develop another component that children will be allergic to.

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