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Methane's potency is one reason why environmentalists are so concerned about natural gas leaks. The Porter Ranch disaster in southern California spewed more than 200 million pounds of methane before it was finally plugged in mid-February. But each year, cows in the U.S. burp out 65 times more gas than was released in the now infamous leak. Globally, about a quarter of methane pollution comes from livestock. Hristov and his team study ways to reduce those emissions, so they have gotten very good at quantifying the amount their cows exhale. Prompted by some extra snacks, cow number 2050 ducks her head into a hooded machine that records the amount of methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide in her burps. During experiments, the scientists take eight measurements from each cow over several days. In a few months, this gives a snapshot of just how much methane the animals churn out -- and whether particular interventions work to slash that pollution.

Scientists at AgResearch in New Zealand have successfully produced healthy transgenic cows that make modified milk or human therapeutic proteins in their milk.

More than 1,600 people worldwide have been infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, and complications from it have resulted in nearly 600 deaths. But in the three years since scientists identified the disease, they haven't been able to discover a way to treat or prevent infection. Now a team of international researchers has used genetically modified cows to create antibodies that combat the disease, which could mean that a vaccine might soon be possible. The research was published today in Science Translational Medicine.

Anthracobunidae is an Eocene family of large mammals from south Asia that is commonly considered to be part of the radiation that gave rise to elephants (proboscideans) and sea cows (sirenians). We describe a new collection of anthracobunid fossils from Middle Eocene rocks of Indo-Pakistan that more than doubles the number of known anthracobunid fossils and challenges their putative relationships, instead implying that they are stem perissodactyls.

Cattle with the mouse gene SP110 added to their genomes have immune cells that are better at slowing the growth of Mycobacterium bovis and are less susceptible to developing the internal symptoms of tuberculosis (TB), according to a study published this week (March 2) in PNAS.

Horn removal through gene editing is a win-win both for the animal and for the farmer, says Muir, who did not take part in this research. "These findings show that you can take highly desirable genes from animals and move them to other members of their species," he told Popular Science. "One could achieve the same results with natural breeding, but gene editing greatly speeds up the process, reducing the time it takes to accomplish the goal from centuries to years."

4:33 video, For 10,000 years, humanity suffered from the scourge of smallpox. The virus killed almost a third of its victims within two weeks and left survivors horribly scarred. But Simona Zompi commends the brave souls -- a Buddhist nun, a boy, a cow, a dairymaid and physician Edward Jenner -- who first stopped the spread of this disastrous disease, to make us smallpox-free today.

For 10,000 years, humanity suffered from the scourge of smallpox. The virus killed almost a third of its victims within two weeks and left survivors horribly scarred. But Simona Zompi commends the brave souls - a Buddhist nun, a boy, a cow, a dairymaid and physician Edward Jenner - who first stopped the spread of this disastrous disease, to make us smallpox-free today.

 Students must consider the role of rumen bacteria and how genetic modification may alter the potential of these bacteria. The case engages students in learning basic principles of bacterial genetics and biotechnology as they consider how microbes and microbial processes impact the environment. The case could also be used in an introductory genetics or biotechnology course.

Most colon cancers may be caused by infections with bacteria that are normally found in cows. For decades we have known that Streptococcus gallolyticus gallolyticus (SGG) is sometimes found in colon tumours, but now the microbes have been found to directly cause tumour growth in mice.

Almost 80% of all antibiotics in the United States aren't taken by people. They're given to cows, pigs, and chickens to make them grow more quickly or as a cheap alternative to keeping them healthy. These drugs could give rise to superbugs-bacteria that can't be treated with modern medicine-and things are only getting worse. In 2013, more than 131,000 tons of antibiotics were used in food animals worldwide; by 2030, it will be more than 200,000 tons. In a paper published today in Science, epidemiologist Thomas Van Boeckel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and colleagues outline the growing threat-and what can be done about it. Boeckel spoke to us about his team's work. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Before the discovery of insulin in 1921, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. Despite the successful management of diabetes with purified animal insulin, potentially severe side effects were abundant, and alternative ways to produce insulin were needed. This case study guides students through the history of using insulin to treat diabetes, focusing on the development of recombinant DNA technology and the world's first bioengineered drug, recombinant human insulin, which is now used worldwide to treat diabetes. Through the course of this case, students consider the central dogma of molecular biology, the development of recombinant DNA technology, drug design, the importance of recombinant proteins to our society, and the ethical analysis and debates that occur as a result of some scientific discoveries. This case was developed as an introduction to an upper-division biotechnology course focusing on recombinant protein design and production, but could also be used in molecular biology, biochemistry, or introductory biology courses to highlight recombinant DNA and biotechnology.