We're raising GM goats to make human breast milk, say Russians

By Will Stewart
Mail Online
Feb. 13, 2009

Scientists are genetically engineering goats to produce the same milk as a human mother.

They claim the breakthrough will allow babies whose mothers can't feed them to receive all the goodness of breast milk.

Researchers behind the experiments reject fears of Dr Frankenstein-style tinkering with nature.

They say their work will also lead to the development of medicines exploiting the antibiotic qualities of lactoferrin, a protein found in women's milk.

The revelations follow research by scientists in Russia and Belarus in which male mice were implanted with human genes.

'This led to surprising amounts of lactoferrin being produced in their female offspring - 160grams per litre of milk,' said the project's chief, Dr Elena Sadchikova.

Researchers then switched to goats to obtain much larger quantities of lactoferrin.

Now 90 females sired by GM male goats are being raised on a secret farm outside Moscow.

They believe that from later this year when the goats mature they will obtain larger amounts of lactoferrin than found naturally in human breast milk.

'The new programme will be aimed at producing milk with the human protein, as well as making medicines from it,' said Dr Pyotr Vitsyaz, of the Belarussian National Academy of Sciences.

The scientists say that the medicines will be used to treat cancer and illnesses of the immune and digestive systems.

Igor Goldman, head of the transgenebank at the Russian Academy of Science, said: 'Human lactoferrin is a natural antibiotic, and it provides babies who don't have their own developed immune system.'

He dismissed complaints about genetic engineering. 'In this case, genetically modified milk is a drug, not a food.

'I am personally concerned about GM products. You never know how they would affect your body. But with drugs it's different. There is no way to create protein. It is too expensive to get it from human cells and impossible on an industrial scale.

'Protein in this form is the best drug invented by God. It is a natural thing that we already have in our bodies. You don't get allergies to it, nor any side effects.'

Dr Goldman said the ' transgenetic' milk could be drunk by adults as well as children.

Two years ago GM rice crops containing human genes were approved for commercial production in America.

The rice was altered to produce human proteins found in breast milk which could then be used in drinks, desserts and muesli bars.

That came ten years after scientists made a major breakthrough by inserting copies of genes from flounder fish into tomatoes to help them withstand frost.