IT’S a recipe so simple, one day farmers could use it to genetically engineer their own animals. Milk some fresh sperm from your pig, cow or sheep. Dry and then wash thoroughly. Swish the washed sperm around in a centrifuge with the gene of your choice. Then use the altered sperm to artificially inseminate a female, wait a few months and hey presto, transgenic offspring.
Italian researchers have already used the technique to create pigs that could one day provide organ transplants for people. What’s more, it could revolutionise the genetic engineering of livestock because it’s 25 times more efficient…
