By Theodora Filis Babies could someday drink human-like milk derived from herds of genetically modified dairy cows, which scientists say could supplement breast milk and replace baby formula. Research, published in PLoS One, claims to be the first study to result in the production of a herd of cloned transgenic cattle expressing recombinant human lysozyme (rHLZ) in their milk. Lysozyme, a bactericidal protein that protects human infants from microbial infections, and is found in only trace amounts in cow milk. The researchers said that the new transgenic milk may allow for the transfer of the nutritional aspects of human lysozyme in human milk to bovine milk. “ Our study not only describes transgenic cattle whose milk offers similar nutritional benefits as human milk but also reports techniques that could be further refined for production of active human lysozyme on a large scale,” said the authors, led by Professor Ning Li, the China Agricultural University, China. Writing in the
It is imperative we all pay attention to the impact of our collective and personal actions on the environment. During the next decade, our global community will be unable to deal effectively with the formidable environmental challenges posed by decades of environmental mismanagement. There are many environmental issues I write about in this blog, some will scare you, and it is my hope, these articles will give you a reason to question and search for answers.