>Status: U >Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 12:47:27 -0500 >From: Keith Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Organization: Permaculture Activist, Culture's Edge, Patterns for >Abundance, and > Earthaven Ecovillage >X-Accept-Language: en >To: "undisclosed recipient:." <"undisclosed recipient:."@mindspring.com> >Subject: Homegrown genocide coming to a field near you? >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Scientists Create GM Corn Which Prevents Human Conception > By Robin McKie, Science Editor > The Observer - London 9-9-1 > > Scientists have created the ultimate GM crop: contraceptive > corn. Waiving fields of maize may one day save the world > from overpopulation. > > The pregnancy prevention plants are the handiwork of the San > > Diego biotechnology company Epicyte, where researchers > have discovered a rare class of human antibodies that attack > > sperm. > > By isolating the genes that regulate the manufacture of >these > antibodies, and by putting them in corn plants, the company > has created tiny horticultural factories that make > contraceptives. > > "We have a hothouse filled with corn plants that make > anti-sperm antibodies," said Epicyte president Mitch Hein. > > "We have also created corn plants that make antibodies > against the herpes virus, so we should be able to make a > plant-based jelly that not only prevents pregnancy but also > blocks the spread of sexual disease." > > Contraceptive corn is based on research on the rare >condition, > immune infertility, in which a woman makes antibodies that > attack sperm. > > "Essentially, the antibodies are attracted to surface >receptors > on the sperm," said Hein. "They latch on and make each sperm > > so heavy it cannot move forward. It just shakes about as if >it > was doing the lambada." > > Normally, biologists use bacteria to grow human proteins. > However, Epicyte decided to use corn because plants have > cellular structures that are much more like those of humans, > > making them easier to manipulate. > > The company, which says it will not grow the maize near > other crops, says it plans to launch clinical trials of the >corn > in a few months. > > Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
