Birth of a revolution As scientists find a way to choose the sex of unborn
calves, campaigners fear human babies could be next
They are the first cows in Europe to have their gender predetermined by
scientists who have perfected a way of separating male and female
chromosomes in cattle sperm.
It will allow Britain's 30,000 dairy farmers to choose to produce only
female calves, rather than having to waste money rearing unwanted males or
having them slaughtered at only a few days old.
Experts have admitted the same technique could be applied to human babies,
raising the prospect of parents choosing the sex of a child before
conception.
Yesterday, concerns were being voiced over its ethical implications, and
there were calls for a ban on its use to determine the sex of human embryos.
At present around 600,000 unwanted dairy bulls are born each year in the UK,
and following the end of the veal export trade the vast majority are
slaughtered within days.
The three pioneering calves, named Charity, Clover and Chloe, were born on a
farm in Cheshire last month after having their gender pre- selected using
the advanced artificial insemination technology.
Every sperm carries either a male-producing Y chromosome or a
female-producing X chromosome, the latter carrying a slightly larger amount
of DNA.
Computerised sensors pass a beam of light through each sperm, identifying
the 'males' and 'females' and separating them using a tiny positive or
negative magnetic charge.
The method is 90 per cent reliable, which for farmers is a huge improvement
on the 50/50 gender split in natural births.
Scientists hope the technique will be commercially available within two
years, following trials carried out by Cogent, an English cattle-breeding
firm working with its American sister company XY Inc.
Martin Hall, a spokesman for Cogent, said: 'This is an extraordinary
development in the history of cattle breeding. It is something that dairy
farmers have wanted for years.' Dairy farmer Paul Moore said since female
calves generally weigh less the technique would make first-time pregnancies
easier for cows. 'Sorted semen will reduce the number of unwanted bull
calves as well as the number of difficult births,' he said.
Each year the government spends millions of pounds subsidising the slaughter
and incineration of male calves, but widespread use of the processed sperm
would mean the doomed calves would not be born at all.
The National Farmers' Union has welcomed the technique, pointing to the
benefits to animal welfare as well as farmers.
Two years ago the Farm Animal Welfare Council backed the use of such methods
to reduce the number of male calves going to the slaughterhouse.
But their potential use in human births has sparked a fierce backlash from
pro-life campaigners.
Dr Mervin Jacobson, president of Colarado-based XY Inc., admitted:
'Scientifically it's correct that humans are also mammals and therefore our
system would work on humans. But our own company is only licensed for
non-human mammals.' At present UK law forbids choosing the sex of an embryo
unless there are strong medical rather than social reasons. Some couples
have already exploited a legal loophole by sending sperm to America to be
processed.
Jack Scarisbrick, chairman of the charity Life, said yesterday: 'I am very
nervous of further manipulation of nature.
'In the past, advances have been tested on animals and later used in humans,
such as with in-vitro fertilisation. This latest manipulation of animal
births breaks down one more barrier.
'I fear it could lead to a form of consumerism, treating children as objects
produced to order, instead of as gifts we should welcome with love and awe.'
Mr Scarisbrick said it was already common in some countries to 'choose' the
sex of a child by aborting unwanted females.
'If you can argue that in cattle this technique saves the male calves from
slaughter, you could also argue that it would save baby girls from abortion,
or claim that the mother should have the freedom to choose. 'It is a
terribly dangerous road to start down.'
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
Web:
http://www.nanoindustries.com
E-mail:
nanogirl@halcyon.com
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echoz@hotmail.com
"Nanotechnology: solutions for the future."