Scientists Create GM Cow to Cut Milk Allergies in Children

Summary
Beta-lactoglobulin is a milk protein that is not present in human milk, but triggers allergies in some young children causing a variety of symptoms. In developed countries between 2-3% of infants are allergic to this milk protein. For that reason scientists have created a genetically modified cow that makes milk with less than 2% of normal levels of beta-lactoglubin. The milk also is richer than usual in other kinds of milk proteins, and believed to contain higher concentrations of calcium than ordinary milk. However the calf that had been cloned and genetically engineered with a piece of genetic material to turn off the gene for producing beta-lactoglobulin was born without a tail. Scientists hypothesize that this rare congenial abnormality was caused by the cloning process rather than the GM technique used to lower levels of the milk protein.

Relevance
This article relates to what we have learned, because it has to do with genetically modifying animals for  human benefits. We learned in class about transgenic animals and producing genetically modified animals. The cow in this article is transgenic because it was cloned and then genetically modified with an extra piece of generic material. Also we recently learned about the  advantages and disadvantages of genetic engineering and the cow losing it's tail is an example of that.

This article is from The Independent and written by Steve Connor. Published October 2, 2012.