The Dunkel Draft of the Agreement will impose copyright protections and restrictions on the use of seeds developed by Western companies. M.D. Nanjundaswamy of the Karnataka Farmers Association who led the protest said seeds to be patented by Cargill were created from germplasm acquired in Third World countries. John Hamilton of Cargill's Bangalore office said in a prepared statement that with a few exceptions, seed sold by Cargill in India is produced in India. The process involves the use of a flow cytometer to sort bull's sperm according to their genetic content. Eggs are then fertilized in vitro and placed within the female.
Researchers expect to be able to market sex determination commercially within a couple of years.
Combined with other techniques, scientists expect to be able to give bull calves the traits for producing the best meat and heifers the best genes for milking, revolutionizing the livestock industry around the world. Researchers emphasized, however, that the gene cannot yet be linked to the cause of diabetes. They are calling it a genetic marker which is seemingly inherited along with the genetic defect that actually causes diabetes. The adult form of diabetes affects nearly 10 million Americans. The research results appear in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.