A genetically modified corn crop created by San Diego-based biotechnology company Epicyte, later purchased by Monsanto and Dupont, designed to kill sperm and prevent pregnancy. After the Epicyte researchers discovered a rare class of human antibodies that attack sperm, they isolated the genes that regulate the manufacture of these antibodies, and put them in corn plants to decrease the population. Epicyte president Mitch Hein explained: ‘Essentially, the antibodies are attracted to surface receptors on the sperm. They latch on and make each sperm so heavy it cannot move forward. It just shakes about as if it was doing the lambada.’ Normally, biologists use bacteria to grow human proteins, however, Epicyte claims to use corn because corn has cellular structures that are much more like those of humans, making them easier to manipulate. Corn is also one of the most heavily consumed crops in the world.1
The company itself was taken over in 2004 by Biolex and nothing more was heard in any media about the development of spermicide corn. Imagine that, it just vanished.
