The new "TC Cow" from Hematech Inc (prion-free) fo

[don]

i am not blaming victims; i'm just saying with better information better decisions can be made. i watched my father suffer for five years before cancer killed him in spite of some pretty good efforts by medical science. i'm sure you can appreciate it would have been much better if he could have avoided it. of course modern medicine has done many things to improve the quality of life for the a lot of people in this world and technology has been a big part of that but sometimes the choice of technology that is used could be better. finding the cause and preventing bse would be so much better than treating one symptom. if prions are only a symptom of bse then this gm bovine will only be of value to the people developing it and only for as long as it takes to ascertain the real cause. it may not save any lives.

[bse-tester]

Hi Kathy, I thought I would add this to your discussion: Ron.

[Kathy]

I hear your opinions and do respect them. Although, I do not agree with everything.

Putting human genes into cows, or any other mammal,.... just think about it. How long before we see more cross-species contamination with viruses and bacteria (or at least more virulent cross-overs)?

So if we accept that treatment is the only answer, then heck why have environmental controls at all; some researcher will eventually come up with a "treatment".

Where does all the money come from for research?

Ask researchers why they have grants to do their work. The only reason is that some investor figures there is a way to make a buck off of the end results. Prevention is not profitable to anyone but the individual and honest governments. The corporations that want to sell us products need to make a profit - first - and foremost.

I really think with the billions that have been spent on BSE, that after 20 years of research someone would have characterized the prion. Very few have attempted and only small amounts are known. And, these known facts ie: it is a cuproglycoprotein that binds copper and attaches to the surface of the cell with a glyco-anchor etc. seem to be relegated to "unknown" in much of the new science, especially that from Ames, Iowa and Fort Collins Colorado.

UNKNOWN - rubbish!

Ignore the facts and push forward GM cows and inject people with this stuff. If you are aware of the facts, know what the heck is being injected into you, and you accept all risks - relinquishing the right to sue for some UNKNOWN future danger... go right ahead. But don't make it law and force it onto us, or we will hit back.

"Informed consent" is not respected, and it should be.

[cedardell]

Is it right or wrong to allow these experimental animals in the food chain? Half the world still rejects this idea. If nothing else it gives them another excuse not to import beef from ua. I'm sure USDA will tell them it's perfectly safe though. We've been through this already. It's dejavou. No wonder we have such a trade imbalance.

[mrj]

It is not as if this is the first 'mixing' of animal and human to develop beneficial treatments for human illnesses.

Consider the burn victims benefitting from pig skin.

The Diabetics benefitting from non-human insulin, for just a couple of them.

Too much of the antagonism against anything having to do with benefitting humans by using animals originates with and is exploited by people against any form of animal use, IMO.

Just read in Ranch magazine where one of those people recently stated that it is better to experiment on children than to use animals for research/experimentation. Those people are so out of line and will do anything for their cause.

Granted, factual PR to explain the benefits of cloning should have preceded the announcement. That mistake has been made too often.

MRJ