Has commercially-sold milk been genetically altered?
398107
No.\n\nMilk does not have cells, so it can't be "genetically altered." Some of the cows that make it have been genetically modified, but no scientist has ever been able to demonstrate a difference between the milk from GE cows vs. "normal" cows.
174736
are you talking about "transgenic crops"  or traditional breeding methods?\n\nGenetically Modified (GM) crops are typically transgenic.  This process involves taking genes from one species—an animal, plant, bacterium, or virus—and inserting them into another species, such as an agricultural crop.  \n\nTo find out more, go to the website below:
344450
chemical b/c u can't tell whether milk is sour or not just by looking at it. you have to taste it, right. so, it's chemically changed not physically.
246421
cloning\nstem cells\ngenetic manipulation
265261
I think that to be honest GM foods are far better than standard pesticide ridden foods.  Many pesticides are highly toxic and carcinogens. \nAlso if one considers all genetic modification unnatural then what about the selective breeding of livestock which has gone on for centuries - this is effectivly re-shaping the genome of whole species.  \nIf people would be prepared to spend a small amount more money to obtain high quality locally produced organic food rather than supermarket produce from the other side of the globe grown in economically crippled countries by people who do not get paid well enough to adequatly provide for their families then GM food would not be an issue.
538795
Yeah...that's not possible.\n\nDon't get me wrong, it's theoretically possible.  But our technology is nowhere near sophisticated enough to even identify the genetic basis of most traits (except for specific genetic diseases and the simplest traits like hair color) let alone manipulate them.  Also, very few of what we call "traits" when we are talking about humans, have a genetic basis.  Genes have various amounts of influence on them but you can't simply alter a few genes and change them.\n\nWe do this all the time with lower organsims like plants and bacteria. For example, something not widely known is that roughly 50% of all lard actually comes from plants that have had the genes for animal fats implanted into them.  At least in the US, the law specifically allows this to be used without being labeled as such and almost all commercial lard is roughly 50% real lard and 50% vegetable based lard mixed together.\n\nPeople ain't plants, however.  Genes for us are fiendishly complex where in plants, they are simple.  Other than cloning, I don't see any form of gene manipulation technology being successful anytime soon.
1042070
For the most part yes, as long as it is reasonable fresh.  For thousands of years this was the only people drank it.  Pasteurization extends the shelf life of milk substantially, making it safe to store and transport over distances.
1005628
Look for some VERY BIG badages and plasters in Tesco`s and read the label on the side of the packing case.......you cant miss them, they stand about 1.5mtr by 2.00mtrs and you`ll find them near the Deli counter.......next to the Genetically Modified Tomatoes........
94293
Scientists alter the genetic make-up of the plant.  It might be as simple as turning off a gene by mutating it, or by stimulating a gene the plant already has to become more active, or active at a different time than usual.  Some scientists go as far as inserting genes from totally different organisms, even kingdoms!  An example was the introduction of a gene that codes for an antifreezing protein.  Allows the fish to survive in extremely low temperatures.  Some scientists inserted this into fruits and vegetables to keep them from dying from frost.
566618
This is a very controversial issue. Of course  there are benefits as highlighted by the previous answer, but there are also many potential problems such as unknown health risks due to ingestion of genetically modified material. Introducing antibiotic resistance into any species is dangerous as it can lead to the development of so called "super-bugs". Environmental damage must be considered too eg modified corn pollen has been found to be damaging to wildlife, when unmodified corn pollen is a natural part of the food chain, pollution of the gene pool leading to hybrids of GM / weeds etc, GM organisms out competing natural species and so on.
907045
Well the BBC tells us, in the UK scientists have applied for permission to create embryos by fusing human DNA with cow eggs.   That's interesting.\n   National Public Radio has an interesting article on the value of pomegranates, in which I learned new data.  NPR's All Things Considered program had an article called "Does Red Wine Fuel the Fountain of Youth?"  regarding testing wine consumption on mice.\n  The way sunshine changes human's lives is a subject newsworthy as well as well documented.  SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) affects a huge population and is especially newsworthy now due to the change from daylight savings time.  I've attached a link from the National Mental Health Association, but a dogpile.com search brought up lots of credible sources.  Good luck - if you have internet or library access you have the path to a paper with "Excellent" written in red across the top!
498533
~ genetic engineering of food, especially for third world countries, and replacing lost vitamins, minerals, etc.\n~ DNA fingerprinting, DNA polymerase, for crime scene investigations\n~ Scientists are now able to clone virtually anything to improve the desired characteristics. For example, genetically engineered animals like pigs are now being tried out to include omega 3 fatty acids for all those meat lovers. (Pigs have more omega 6 fatty acids originally.)\n~ There are so many more values of genetic engineering. You need to do some research on this. Try looking on the web, or in your school textbook (i.e. Biotechnology Unit). It is a hotly debated topic, so its scope is extremely wide. \nGood luck!!! :)\n\n*ANON*
427919
I agree with the above post in that if any research is being done, then it's still in the works, so it hasn't been announced yet. And genetically altering things, especially something as complicated as poultry, is a lot harder than most people seem to think. I would seriously doubt that anyone is working on genetically altering an entire species just to raise resistance to this strain of avian influenza. Any mutation in the flu and the genetic alterations would probably end up useless.
1036311
Cow's milk really isn't good for human beings. Think of it this way, human breast milk is best for human babies, it contains antibodies, proteins, and essential fatty acids necessary for the baby to grow. It's the same for cows. Cows millk is best for calves, it contains all the proteins, antibodies etc. etc. needed to help a baby cow grow VERY fast. \n\nThe main protein in cow's milk is casein, which is too big for the human body to even assimilate (as are the majority of the things found in milk). Even though cow's milk has more calcium than human milk (4 times as much), it cannot be used by a human body b/c of the "big packaging." In fact, people who drink 2-3 glasses of milk a day have been shown to have a lower level of blood calcium. Multiple international studies have linked milk with increased risks of cancer. Crazy, ain't it? Vitamin A and D aren't naturally present in cow's milk; they are added by man, but there are an abundance of other foods that contain calcium and vitamins and are easier for the human body to use.\n\nCow's milk also has a TON of fat. 2% milk actually contains 35% fat, the "2%" fat is determined by weight only. Low fat milk is 24-33% fat, and whole milk is a whopping 49% fat. So what else is in cow's milk?\n\nSome dairy cows are given the hormone BGH to increase milk output. A normal cow produces 1.5 -2 gallons of milk per day. With BGH, they produce 8-9 gallons per day. That is some serious hormone action there, which is probably showing up in the milk. Now let's talk about government regulation for milk pasteurization. The standard state test (called a Standard Plate Count) is that milk containing 30,000 organisms or less per MILLILITER has been adequately pasteurized and is safe for people to drink.  And finally, 20-40% of caucasians and up to 90% of asians and africans are lactose intolerant due to the fact that humans gradually lose the the lactase activity in their small intestines between the ages of 1-4.\n\nI actually just found out about this information recently. I'm 21 and have been drinking milk occasionally all my life (I wasn't classified as lactose intolerant, but milk has never really tasted good or sat well in my stomach). Soy milk is ok, but I've also heard that it is highly processed. I've been turned on to Almond Milk. The sweetened kind tastes really great, and the unsweetened tastes a little bit like regular cow's milk with a hint of bitter almond.
280926
That refers, I believe, to genetic modification of foods.  Some people labled these as "Frankenfoods" (take off of the Frankenstein monster) to symbolize what happens when science tries to modify things.\nSomehow, they think that modified corn...which now grows twice as fast and has more nutrients in it...will harm us.  Instead of realizing that we can feed twice as many people, and feed the hungry all over the world, they just stick their fingers in their ears and become afraid of science, afraid of change.
568033
Yes, believe it or not.  A Canadian firm has gene spliced goats to produce spider web threads in their milk.\n\nLink is attached.  If you want more of them, just use the search term\n\nspider web goat milk
1089442
Well..Scientific experiment or no, there is a new thing out that when it becomes more popular amoung the general public, I'm SURE it will create quite some controversy..The thing I am talking about are called, GenPets. They are genetically created pets, and I think they are cloned using a splice between a human child and a mole..That's what they look like, and believe it or not, next year, they will be coming available for purchase..Go check out the website for them, i'll leave it on the source thing..It's amazing actually..Living and funtioning clones, and for a pet at that..Biogenetic engineering is such a controversial thing, but I believe if scientists could actually hoan the full potential of it and not just goof around with it, it would be VERY useful!!\nHttp://www.GenPets.com