This is the type of product that gives genetically modified foods their bad name.
What next?
A carrot stuck up a pig's arse and call it a bacon lolly!?
"Transgenic pigs provide alternative omega-3 source |
Researchers have created transgenic pigs that produce omega-3 fatty acids, compounds which are thought to improve heart function and help reduce the risk of heart disease but which are ordinarily only found in certain types of fish.
The breakthrough represents the first cloned, transgenic livestock that is capable of making the fatty acid and could provide an alternative and safe source of the compound.
At present, omega-3 fatty acids are usually obtained from eating certain types of fish which obtain their omega-3 from marine algae in their diet; however, these types of fish often have high levels of mercury.
The research was carried out by a team that includes researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia, the University of Pittsburgh and Massachusetts General Hospital and is being published by Nature Biotechnology.
The team transferred a gene responsible for creating omega-3 fatty acids, known as fat-1, into pig cells.
Nuclear transfer cloning was then employed to create transgenic pigs from these cells, and tissues from the pigs were tested for the presence of omega-3 fatty acids.
The research could eventually provide an alternative food source of omega-3, enabling health-conscious consumers to include the fatty acid in their diet without having to rely on fish.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/518926/ "
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