Tuesday, 3 March 2015

GM Cows to Rescue the Badger?


Scientists in China have reportedly inserted a mouse gene into cows, making them more resistant to TB (http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/02/mouse-gene-could-help-produce-tb-resistant-cattle-study-shows). This technology would, if widely adopted (a big 'if', given a wide-spread European objection to all things GM, except for medical developments) would greatly reduce the need to vaccinate cows against TB or to cull herds in which the disease is identified. It would also, as a by-product, negate any rational reason for attacking badger populations. Somehow, I don't think that this is going to happen.
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