The milk obtained from the transgenic cow ‘Rosie’ was

🗝️ Key Points
→ The first transgenic cow was called Rosie and was produced in 1997.
→ It was genetically engineered to produce human protein-enriched milk.
→ This milk contained 2.4gms of human α-lactalbumin per litre of milk.
→ Normal cow milk does not contain this protein.
→ Thus, the milk from the transgenic cow was nutritionally more balanced for human babies than natural cow milk.

📌 Additional Information
→ Transgenic animals refer to those that have had their genomes modified to possess and express a foreign gene.

🔬 Reasons for Production of Transgenic Animals
→ Study of Physiology & Development
→ Study of how genes and their regulation affect the physiological functioning of the body.
→ Complex growth factors like insulin can be studied.
→ Study of Diseases
→ Transgenic animals serve as model organisms for studying human diseases.
→ They help in understanding the disease development process from genes.
→ They are also used for investigating new treatment methods.
→ Transgenic models exist for diseases like cancer, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's.
→ Biological Products
→ Many biological products essential for formulating medicines are often expensive.
→ These products can be obtained easily from transgenic animals.
→ This can be achieved by introducing the gene responsible for the desired product into a suitable organism.
→ Example: Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a human protein required for emphysema treatment.
→ Vaccine Safety
→ Transgenic mice can be used to test the safety of vaccines before use for humans.
→ Toxicity Testing
→ Transgenic animals can be made more sensitive to certain chemicals or drugs.
→ These animals are exposed to toxic substances, and their effects are then studied.