Pharm Goats and Malaria

People at A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Texas Agrilife Research have dreams. They imagine that people in poor countries get their milk out and their milk is vaccinated for malaria and possibly other ailments, or maybe they have important medicines. It's a good idea because goats are endangered animals that can thrive in poor areas. Their milk provides good nutrition, and now may be able to provide more. This is the latest advancement in transgenic research.

What is Pharming?

The term farming has been adopted to mean the production of human drugs in livestock. This is not a new investigation. In contrast, research on transgenic animals began in the 1980s. The first product is Humulin, which is a human insulin produced by bacteria and produced in 1982. There are several human gene products studied, including factor IX, insulin, growth hormone, a-1-antitrypsin, antithrombin III and plasminogen activating tissue. The last two were studied in goats.

How does it work?

Goat gene genes related to milk production have been manipulated to produce malaria antigens, through the creation of transgenic goats.

The simple explanation is that through genetic manipulation, DNA is truncated to remove interesting sequences and these sequences are linked to vectors, to transfer them to other organisms. There are actually several techniques used to achieve genetic transfer. Older methods use microinjection of fertilized egg DNA, while newer methods utilize nuclear transfer as a whole.

The Controversy

This subject is a controversial matter. There are people on both sides of the issue and both are passionate about their views. The public's concern over the genetic manipulation and the dangers it poses has even been translated into silver screens in films like the series Resident Evil and Gattaca, among others.

There are many opposites to transgenic work in both animals and plants. People worry that we're going too far and we don't understand the consequences of genetic manipulation. Also, we do not and cannot understand what will be the result of this manipulation.

Many people oppose the genetic manipulation of plants and animals, so the organic movement was born. People are willing to pay extra to buy vegetables and animals free of drugs and genetic manipulation.

Instead, this and similar research can help millions in poor areas suffering from diseases, such as malaria and inability to pay for vaccines. This includes other medicines that can be produced in animals, including goats. In the future, whether whole human organs are successfully implanted in animals has not been proven. How many people can be saved?

Genetic manipulation of the plant has led to better and higher production rates, as it has been genetically modified to have better resistance to pests and diseases. Higher yield translates more food to the hungry.

Pharm Goats and Malaria


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