World’s first cloned cow Kaga dies in Japan
Tokyo, Oct 10: The world’s first cloned cow, named Kaga, has died due to natural causes aged 21 years and three months at the same research centre in Japan where it was born, government sources said on Thursday.
Kaga was born in July 1998 at the Ishikawa prefectural livestock research centre as part of a joint research project with Kinki University – now known as the Kindai University – using the same technology used to clone British sheep Dolly two years earlier, reports Efe news.
Twin cows Kaga and Noto were born as a result of Japanese research on bovine cloning, with the latter having died in May 2018.
Kaga, who died of old age (the normal lifespan of cows is 20-25 years), began to have problems standing up in September and was given nutritional supplements and an anti-inflammatory drip in its legs, officials of the research centre told local news agency Kyodo.
However, the cow could no longer stand in early October and was pronounced dead on Wednesday.
In 2006, a total of 14 cloned cows had been produced at the Ishikawa centre, but the research – originally aimed at improving the production of meat and milk – was scaled back after the distribution of cloned cow meat was restricted in the country in 2009.
The cloned cattle in Ishikawa have been kept to study the life expectancy among such animals.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
