Scientists have genetically modified cows so that they will not pose any harm for anybody. The scientists have removed the cows' horns to lessen accidents caused by it.
Farmers, walkers, and other animals will have a safer time now in the countryside as scientists have removed a gene that is responsible for the growth of horns on cows. Owners of cows do not have to manually remove the horns of their cows. They do not have to cut it with a saw or burn the horns of calves, Mail Online has reported. The cow that was tried first was the black-and-white Holsteins, a very popular breed of cow.
The University of California, Davis used gene-editing to remove the DNA that causes for horns to grow. The DNA of hornless cows was merged with the DNA of cows with horns. Animal geneticist Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam of UC Davis has created two calves that were born through IVF techniques and named them Spotigy and Buri.
The scientists who did the experiment are now hoping that the first bred will continue to pass on the non-horn traits to their babies. "Genome editing promises to complement traditional breeding programs by precisely introducing desirable genetic variations into livestock breeding programs," Dr. Van Eenennaam said during her presentation of her researcher at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Boston.
The Sun has reported that there are approximately five British people that are killed every year just because of the horns of the cows. Meanwhile, there are 25 people that are killed by cows attack each year in the United States. Most cows in Britain have horns so this new development could lessen and eventually eliminate the number of people killed or injured by cows' horns.
In the United Kingdom, there are only a few cows that are hornless. The Hereford and Angus breeds are those. The DNA of hornless cows was merged with the DNA of cows with horns.
