Researchers at a high-tech genetics company in northwest Iowa say cattle may prove to be an important line of defense in the war on bio-terrorism. Trans Ova Genetics in Sioux Center is developing cloned cattle which will ideally produce antibodies to fight deadly human ailments. Researchers say they may be a few months from success. Trans Ova is working with two other research teams, one in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the other in Japan. The antibodies would be taken from the blood of the cloned cows and researchers say they’d work much faster than traditional vaccines in battling smallpox and other so-called weaponized diseases. Trans Ova officials say it has the potential of generating millions of dollars in the Midwest as producers would be needed to raise herds of the genetically-enhanced cattle from which the medicine would be harvested.
Iowa's Radio News Network
