Chicken glows free of avian influenza

British scientists from the Roslin Institute have just created a genetically modified chicken with legs and beaks emitting blue light in the dark.

Breeding glowing chickens immune to influenza

More special is that the breed is immune to avian influenza.

According to Reuters, the study is supported by the UK's leading government and livestock companies. Avian influenza is a global concern over the past decade that not only harms the livestock industry but also the risk of infection to humans.

Genetically modified chicks (left) next to normal chicks - (Photo: Reuters).

In the United States alone, 48 million chickens have been destroyed by disease since December last year.

Scientists have long been worried about the possibility that a pandemic could explode if the flu virus starts to change after it enters humans.

Interesting artificial glowing animals

There have been many cases of avian flu cases leading to death in Asia in recent years and it is frightening that the mortality rate from bird flu infection is quite high.

It is possible that glowing chicken-like meat will not appear on our plate immediately. People are still hesitant to use genetically modified animals as food because of concerns about safety and environmental impacts.

An example: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spent 20 years just to 'research' a genetically modified salmon to see if it is safe. Although the agency announced in 2010 that it was "okay" but so far they have not made a final decision.