 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Cambridge, England (UPI) Jan 14, 2011 British scientists say they have created the first genetically modified chickens that do not spread bird flu. Researchers say the development will protect the health of poultry and could reduce the risk of a pandemic of the disease in humans, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday. Bird flu, also known as avian flu, does not easily infect humans but when it does the effects can be serious. One strain, H5N1, has been blamed for about 300 deaths since the mid-1990s and kills almost 80 percent of those who become infected. "Chickens are potential bridging hosts that can enable new strains of flu to be transmitted to humans," Laurence Tiley of Cambridge University, one of the scientists who carried out the new research, said. "Preventing virus transmission in chickens should reduce the economic impact of the disease and reduce the risk posed to people exposed to the infected birds." The research team inserted an artificial gene into chickens that introduced a tiny part of the bird flu virus into chicken cells. The modified birds become infected but the virus was rendered to other poultry, the BBC reported.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology
World agriculture threatened by water gluttony: reportNew York (AFP) Jan 12, 2011 World agriculture employs more than one billion people but is in trouble because it's the biggest consumer of ever scarcer water and a huge producer of greenhouse gas emissions, a new report said Wednesday. Worldwatch Institute, a research group on climate, energy, agriculture and the green economy, said there had to be a revolution in investment in food and water to reverse a "frightening" ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
