Pharmaceutical goats and malaria
The folks at A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Texas Agrilife Research have a dream. They imagine people from impoverished countries going out to milk their goats and get vaccinated from the milk against malaria and possibly other diseases as well, or perhaps get important medicines. It’s a good idea because goats are hardy animals that can thrive in impoverished areas. Your milk provides good nutrition and now perhaps it can provide much more. This is the latest advance in transgenic research.
What is pharming?
The term pharming was adopted to refer to the production of human drugs in farm animals. This is not a new investigation. In contrast, research on transgenic animals began in the 1980s. The first product was Humulin, which is human insulin produced by bacteria and was produced in 1982. There are several human gene products that have been studied, including the factor IX, insulin, growth hormone, α-1-antitrypsin, antithrombin III, and tissue. plasminogen activator. The last two were studied in the goat.
How does it work?
The goat’s milk-related genes are engineered to produce the malaria antigen, creating what is called a transgenic goat.
A simplified explanation is that through genetic manipulation the DNA is cut eliminating the sequence that interests us and then this sequence is joined with a vector, to transfer it to another organism. In reality, there are several techniques that are used to achieve gene transfer. An older method uses DNA microinjection from fertilized eggs, while a newer method uses full nuclear transfer.
Controversy
This issue is a hotbed of controversy. There are people on both sides of the problem and both sides are passionate about their views. The concern that people feel about genetic manipulation and the dangers it poses has even been translated to the big screen in films like the Resident Evil series and Gattaca, among many others.
There are many who are against transgenic work in both animals and crops. People worry that we go too far and don’t understand the consequences of genetic manipulation. Furthermore, we do not and cannot fully understand what the result of this manipulation will be.
Many people are against the genetic manipulation of crops and animals, thus the Organic movement was born. People are willing to pay more to buy vegetables and animals free from drugs and genetic manipulation.
On the other hand, this and similar research can help millions of people in impoverished areas who suffer from diseases, such as malaria, and who cannot afford vaccines. This extends to other drugs that can be produced in animals, including goats. In the future, it has not yet been proven whether whole human organs can be successfully grown in animals. How many people could be saved?
The genetic manipulation of crops has led to better and higher production rates, because these crops have been genetically modified to have better resistance to pests and diseases. Higher yields translate into more food available to starving people.