Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Professor Dotcomm who wrote (1856)	3/30/1999 12:27:00 PM
From: Dan Spillane	Respond to of 2539

Apparently, cows can have the prion without sheep being involved. If it were a prion that came "whole" from sheep to human (without cow) then we would have a big problem with "mad sheep disease" going to humans. There are, however, a number of similar "prion" diseases in various animals and humans that have been recognized for a long time, but these are independent of any beef involvement. Ultimately, "mad cow" may be related to (or triggered by) a similar sheep version, but it can arise independently via generation of the prion in the cow's body, perhaps from other cows, or the environment. Said another way, if they find prions anywhere (human, sheep, cow) which cause problems, genetic modification is the way to eliminate them, since we know how they are made. The key is now we have documented the movement of prions into humans for the troublesome version, which moves from cow to human. That is an outstanding achievement; we are a step away from eradicating this problem by engineering out prions in cows and other animals. You said: But wasn't it the point that cows originally caught the disease from being fed with additives made from sheep?

To: Professor Dotcomm who wrote (1856)	3/30/1999 3:17:00 PM
From: Dan Spillane	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2539

Below is an interesting article, would seem to justify gene-modified cows to remove the "mad cow" prion... (earlier points) Message 8606799 Message 8592308 Mad Cow Hidden Horror - Infection Rate May Be 100 Times Higher By Debora MacKenzie 6-11-98 "... some cows may be carrying a silent infection that could be even more dangerous to people than overt BSE: "It may be that there is rather more infectivity in muscle (meat) or other tissues in those animals and that is why they do not have a brain disease." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hundreds of thousands of apparently healthy cattle could be infected with BSE, new Swiss data suggest. For every case of mad cow disease in Switzerland, more than 100 animals may be "silently" carrying the infection. If this pattern holds true in Britain, the number of British cattle now carrying the disease as of last year will have exceeded 450 000. Last year, Switzerland started slaughtering herds in which a case of BSE had been confirmed. The Swiss Federal Veterinary Office then began looking for signs of BSE in the brains of these apparently healthy cattle. These tests have just been repeated using a sensitive diagnostic test developed by Prionics, a company in Zürich. In the Prionics test, brain tissue is homogenised, then treated with an enzyme to break down proteins apart from the rogue form of PrP, the protein that becomes misshapen in BSE. The mix is then put on a gel in an electric field, which separates the remaining protein fragments. Malformed PrP is detected using an antibody that binds tightly to the protein. Previous tests of this type, called Western blots, have taken three days. "We can have a result in 12 hours, before a carcass leaves the slaughterhouse," says Markus Moser of Prionics. Only one or two cases of BSE typically occur in each affected herd in all countries in which the disease has shown up. "The official theory is that only the sick cows ate a lump of infectious feed," says Moser. "But other cattle may be infected, and just haven't shown symptoms." The Prionics test has confirmed this. Of 1761 healthy cows slaughtered in the culling programme, eight tested positive for BSE. Six of these were also picked up by the veterinary office using other tests. Eight infected cows out of 1761 gives a rate of "silent" infection of 4.5 per thousand animals--more than 100 times Switzerland's 1997 rate of clinical BSE. The Swiss government and Prionics will start testing the brains of 3000 randomly selected cattle at more than 20 slaughterhouses later this year, to see if the same rate of infection holds for herds in which BSE has not yet been recorded. Two abattoirs say they will screen all slaughtered cattle. Epidemiological data suggest that a similar pattern may emerge. If so, says Bruno Oesch, head of Prionics, "then 1800 subclinical cases may have ended up on the table" in Switzerland last year. No one has tested for subclinical BSE infection in Britain. But if British herds contain more than 100 infected animals for every one with obvious symptoms, the number of subclinical cases in 1997 would have been around 460,000. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) says that only older cows are likely to pose any risk of infecting people. And since 1996, all British cattle older than 30 months have been destroyed. "This removes the possibility of any animal harbouring infectivity from entering the food chain," claims a MAFF spokesman. But some of the government's scientific advisers remain worried about the risks posed by subclinical infection. John Collinge of Imperial College London, a member of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, last week told the official BSE Inquiry of his fears that some cows may be carrying a silent infection that could be even more dangerous to people than overt BSE: "It may be that there is rather more infectivity in muscle or other tissues in those animals and that is why they do not have a brain disease." Collinge has tried to get MAFF to look for subclinical infection using sensitive tests like the one developed by Prionics, but with no success. "I have raised that several times," he told the inquiry. MAFF is now considering plans to study subclinical BSE, but could provide no details. From New Scientist, 13 June 1998 sightings.com

To: Professor Dotcomm who wrote (1856)	3/30/1999 7:37:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2539

03/30 18:56 DuPont plans plunge into Brazil transgenic market By Phil Stewart SAO PAULO, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S chemical group DuPont Co <DD.N> plans to begin field testing genetically modified soybeans and corn in Brazil by next year, an official at DuPont's local unit said on Tuesday. The move should pave the way for sales as early as 2004 to the world's second-largest soybean producer while giving DuPont a pole-position in the burgeoning Brazilian market for transgenic crops, said Joao Sereno Lammel, DuPont's South America sales manager. "This year we should request official tests for corn and soybeans," Lammel said, adding field testing should begin in 2000. "We think that within four to five years we will begin sales." Lammel said that DuPont's plunge into genetically modified crops in Brazil would be greatly enhanced by its coupling with leading seed producer Pioneer Hi-Bred International <PHB.N>, which agreed to be acquired by DuPont two weeks ago. Beyond opening Pioneer's vast seed bank, the merger would allow the two companies to pool the massive amounts of cash needed stay at the forefront of rapid innovations in biotechnology and seed development. "It's a very large cost that few businesses, even big ones, have the money to pay for on their own," Lammel said. Lammel said DuPont and Pioneer were prepared to make further acquisitions and strategic partnerships in Brazil to guarantee a competitive edge after a string of local buyouts by U.S. biotechnology giant Monsanto Co. <MTC.N>. "Pioneer made an important acquisition last week... and we are looking around for partners," Lammel said. Last week, Pioneer bought out a small Brazilian soybean germ plasm developer 2Marcos for unspecified sum, Lammel said, estimating the company held 2 percent to 4 percent market share. He added DuPont already possessed the needed corn germ plasm to integrate with transgenic technology. Brazil, Latin America's agricultural titan, broke its ban on transgenic crops last year by approving the safety of Monsanto's herbicide-resistant Roundup Ready soybeans, which are expected to move off test plots and onto farms nationwide this year. AgrEvo, the German joint venture between Hoechst AG <HOEG.F> and Schering AG <SCHG.F>, is awaiting a possible June safety approval for its herbicide-resistant LibertyLink corn, a crop to which Brazilian farmers dedicate 12 million hectares annually. Swiss group Novartis AG <NOVZn.S> and U.S. grain heavyweight Cargill also have applications for safety approval slowly working their way through the government pipeline. Lammel acknowledged that DuPont would face stiff competition when it makes its late entry into the Brazilian market. But he stressed that unlike DuPont's rivals, the multinational would also target its transgenic crops at food processors and consumers. He said unlike herbicide, pest and weather resistant transgenics, which cut costs to farmers, DuPont would focus mainly on enhancing the nutritional makeup of crops. "We will offer, for example, soybeans with a higher volume of oil... or it could have more protein, for example" Lammel said. He added the company would favor special labeling of transgenic soybeans and all derivative products, an issue that has grown in controversy among transgenic-weary European consumers.