Cancer-fighting eggs developed

[Guest guest]

Moderator's Note- I am not sure if this post was meant as a " yippie " now we have

genetically modified chickens that will save us from our modern ailments. If

that is the case, then I must add another perspective- that genetically

modifying our food sources is but another tragic modern ailment in and of

itself. Who says this is safe to eat? Are those in charge more dedicated to

the good of the people or the bottom line? Will this be like the cloned meat

that will be shoved down the throats of the general public with adament refusal

to even give consumers notice on the label- so we can at least make an informed

choice? And has anyone considered the power of this practice to be used to

" drug " everybody that eats? I go out of my way to live a natural life to avoid

drugs- why do I want them in my food, without informed consent? Articals such

as these reek of hypocrasy and manipulation- in my opinon.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6261427.stm

 

Anti-cancer chicken eggs produced

 

GM chickens could be a route to faster, cheaper drugs

UK scientists have developed genetically modified chickens capable of

laying eggs containing proteins needed to make cancer-fighting drugs.

The breakthrough has been announced by the same research centre that

created the cloned sheep, Dolly.

 

The Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, says it has produced five

generations of birds that can produce useful levels of life-saving

proteins in egg whites.

 

The work could lead to a range of drugs that are cheaper and easier

to make.

 

Professor Harry Griffin, director of the institute, told the

BBC: " One of the characteristics of lots of medical treatments these

days is that they're very expensive.

 

" The idea of producing the proteins involved in treatments in flocks

of laying hens means they can produce in bulk, they can produce

cheaply and indeed the raw material for this production system is

quite literally chicken feed. "

 

Roslin has bred some 500 modified birds. Their existence is the

result of more than 15 years' work by the lead scientist on the

project, Dr Helen Sang.

 

But it could be another five years before patient trials get the go-

ahead and 10 years until a medicine is fully developed, the Roslin

Institute cautioned.

 

Anti-viral approach

 

Therapeutic proteins such as insulin have long been produced in

bacteria; but there are some complex proteins that can only be made

in the more sophisticated cells of larger organisms.

 

Scientists have successfully made a range of these molecules in the

milk of genetically modified sheep, goats, cows and rabbits.

 

The work at Roslin shows it is now possible to use chickens

as " biofactories " , too.

 

 

A number of GM animals are now being used as drug factories

 

 

Go-ahead for 'pharmed' goat

Some of the birds have been engineered to lay eggs that contain

miR24, a type of antibody with potential for treating malignant

melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Others produce human interferon b-

1a, which can be used to stop viruses replicating in cells.

 

The proteins are secreted into the whites of the eggs. It is a fairly

straightforward process then to extract and purify them.

 

Dr Sang said the team was highly encouraged by the level of the

birds' productivity, but further improvements were required.

 

" We're probably getting a high enough productivity if you want to

make a very active protein like interferon, but not enough yet if you

want to make an antibody because people need large doses of these

over long periods; so one of our next challenges is to try to

increase the yield in egg white, " she told BBC News.

 

Wider role

 

Chickens had some advantages over other animals for " pharming "

because their lifecycles were shorter, said Dr Sang.

 

" Once you've made the transgenic birds, then it's very easy; once

you've got the gene in, then you can breed up hundreds of birds from

one cockerel - because they can be bred with hundreds of hens and you

can collect an egg a day and have hundreds of chicks in no time, " she

explained.

 

The Roslin research is part of the Avian Transgenic Project, a joint

venture with biotechnology firms Viragen and Oxford BioMedica.

 

Details of the latest work are to be published this week in the US

journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

 

The Roslin team also expects its engineered chickens to provide new

insights into aspects of reproductive biology.

 

It says the ability to modify birds' embryos will allow researchers

to study fundamental processes that control the very early

development of vertebrates.

 

It is just over 10 years since the Finn Dorset lamb called Dolly was

born at the institute.

 

She was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell - making her

a genetic replica of a six-year-old ewe. She was put down in 2003

after contracting a common lung disease.