Genetically Engineered Mice Now Produce More Human-Like Milk

Russian scientists are milking modified mice to harvest immune-system-boosting proteins

By Stuart Fox Posted 06.04.2009 at 1:09 pm 5 Comments

Milking The Rat "You promised me dog or higher!"- Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby courtesy of the National Institute of Health

A team of Russian scientists has developed a reason to milk rodents other than defrauding Springfield Elementary School. According to National Geographic, the scientists have genetically engineered mice to produce human proteins in their milk, opening the door for healthier infant formula.

In particular, the researchers spliced the gene responsible for the production of the protein lactoferrin into the mouse genome. Lactoferrin is a protein that protects against bacterial and fungal infection, so its addition to baby formula could help give formula some of the immune system-boosting qualities that it lacks in comparison to actual breast milk.

Ultimately, the goal is to develop the technique to the point where cows or goats could be genetically engineered to produce the protein, as milking rodents on an industrial scale is obviously not the most efficient means of production. It is, however, the most hilarious:

[via National Geographic]

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5 Comments

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rlenston

06/04/09 at 1:29 pm

That Simpsons reference was pretty awesome.

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coopcj7

06/04/09 at 6:58 pm

I agree with rlenston!! Glad to see my years of watching bart and homer havent went to waste. Still I dont think I want to feed my infant genetically engineered Milk/formula. I dont agree with all these artificial synthetic anything we pump into our kids, there is nothing wrong with good ole breast milk.

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rlenston

06/04/09 at 7:58 pm

I agree coopcj7. To a degree anyway. I'd wait a good fifty years (if I had it) to see if there were any adverse side affects to those who so easily accepted it. Similar to hormones in chickens and what-not.

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bdhoro87

from coral gables, fl

06/04/09 at 8:36 pm

Yeah, didn't we learn from formula that we just don't know everything that's in breast milk and how each effects our development, formula will probably never be superior to the old fashioned stuff. But, there's a time and a place where it could be appropriate, so that better formula is available is only a good thing (nobody's making us switch to formula, lets just hope doc's don't recommend it over the natural stuff)

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Oakspar77777

06/05/09 at 1:55 pm

I think the real point is to geneticall engineer a cow (goat, sheep, pig, etc) that produces human style milk. It won't fix the usual lactose issues that come from sterilizing milk, but would drop the cost of formula to something much closer to the cost of milk. Cheap formula is a cash cow worth billions (no pun intended).