Spider Goats

[StoneHeartFarm]

Did anybody catch the blip on the News last night about the genetically modified goats? It seems they have genetically engineered a goat with a spider's genes so it will produce silk proteins in its milk.

Aside from the usual string of new jokes this is going to engender--"Have you heard about Spider Man's new pet? Spoat the Spider Goat!" How does everyone feel about this? I'm not sure I'm liking this myself. I understand that man has been breeding animals for thousands of years to get desireable traits. But I don't think goats would have EVER developed the ability to produce these proteins through selective breeding. I'm also concerned about the milk being "accidentally" mixed in with milk for human consumption. And, with the possibility of this new creature getting loose and passing the gene on to regular dairy goats on American farms. Apparently the Canadian Company involved (Nexia Biotechnologies) is also concerned since they have moved 150 of these animals to an abandoned Air Force base in Plattsburgh, NY.

Why do they want the spider protein? So they can make fibers for aerospace, medical and military uses. Better bullet proof vests. One problem I have is that the general public will probably never see much of this product. By the time the military gets done making bullet proof vests and airplanes, there probably won't be much left.

A website with a quick desription is here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.howstuffworks.com/news-item38.htm>http://www.howstuffworks.com/news-item38.htm</A>

Whatcha guys think?

SHF

 

[MossRoad]

This is one of those subjects that you don't want to bring up at the dinner table(along with politics, religion and finances) but should be discussed at some point.

Is there a difference between selective breeding(playing god) and genetic engineering(playing god) or is it just the same thing using different tools? Heck, I don’t have a clue. Where should you draw the line? You will probably have to consult your conscious, your clergy and your friends and make your own decision.

As for me, when you start messing with the fabric of life, DNA, you are asking for trouble. Sure, you might find a cure for cancer, make all people Einsteins or solve world hunger. You might also produce a breed of inbred saber toothed morons and doom mankind forever.

Just my humble opinion. Please don't flame me /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

 

[Youare]

I listened to a program on NPR concering this subject a few weeks ago. I wondered what effect the goats milk with the silk protein would have on any offspring that comsumed it let alone humans.

I think we maybe in for some serious gene mutations in animals and humans at some point down the road. The thing that concerns me is what some research labs might create in the effort to make a lot of money.

The silk or thread spiders make their web out of is many times stronger than any steel or synthetic material man has made so far. The spider protein in the goats milk would allow the production of a material that would have near the strength of spider silk.

Randy

 

[looch]

This stuff freaks me out. I can't comprehend the arrogance that it would take to think that you could mess with something as complicated as this and not have to deal with serious problems down the road. How about this one: combining the genes of an Atlantic flounder fish with those of a strawberry. This to produce strawberries that are more resistant to cold weather.

Another thing, in Canada there is no requirement to label gentically modified food. So no one can say that they haven't consumed some at one time or another. No control group makes for a pretty dumb experiment.

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop and we'll find out that these goats not only make silk, but they jump 40 feet, lift 5 times their weight and their bite can be fatal.

How long will it be before the Olympics has to make a rule about genetically engineered athletes? Say a gymnast with strength genes from a chimp to handle the parallel bars better.

I guess I would feel better if I knew that this was just to get enough of the protein to enable it to be studied for factory manufacture. Unfortunately, I don't think that's the case.

Does anybody know what diseases spiders get? Is it possible to have an insect disease cross over into mammals?

SHF

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Re: Radio Active Spider Goats

I just had a good thought. Maybe Tyson can cross a spider with a chicken and then everyone can have a drumstick! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

SHF

 

[Chuck52]

I'm no longer up to date on this stuff, but as I recall, trying to insert genes for specific proteins, such as medically valuable hormones, so that they will be secreted in the milk of lactating animals is one of the common goals in such studies. This is an extension of that work to the materials science area. In general, these projects involve transfer of a single gene, i.e. the code for a single protein. We're not talking about anything like the plot of the movie The Fly, here. However, there is always the Law of Unintended Consequences to contend with. I'm constantly amused by pharmaceutical commercials which tout the safety of a new drug, only to then list an amazing array of side effects. There's an arthritis medication which claims to target only a specific enzyme. How could they possibly know that? There's no such thing as negative proof, and one thing I learned in biochemistry is that everything is connected.

Chuck

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Chuck52

<font color=blue> the Law of Unintended Consequences </font color=blue>

Is that anything like Jurassic Park?

SHF

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Radio Active Spider Goats

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Now that would be using science for evil!

I just read something somewhere (which makes it 100% true) that they have been crossbreeding chickens to get ones with bigger breasts to supply the market for white meat. Well, it turns out that big breasted chickens don't lay as many eggs. Now they are predicting a shortage of egg laying chickens.

 

[Chuck52]

Jurassic Park....lessee now....wasn't that where the folks inserted a gene from a modern reptile or frog or something, and it happened to result in the gender of the dinos being determined by temperature so that the plan to have only one sex for the animals as a safety feature was defeated? Yep. I think they even used the phrase Unintended Consequence. Similar things actually happen. Like when a pharmaceutical drug formulated for particular purpose is found to be useful for an entirely different condition. Wasn't Viagra originally developed for something other than it's current very popular use? Anyway, that's what I mean about everything being connected. The biochemical pathways of an organism don't function in a vacuum; they're all interconnected, somewhat like the concept of ecology in relation to the environment. Destroy the rain forest in Brazil and we get weird weather in the midwest. Spit thee not into the wind, lest thine own saliva smack thee in the face.

Chuck