Eggs as new source for cancer drugs.

Eggs as new source for cancer drugs.Scientists in Japan have genetically modified chickens to lay eggs containing drugs that have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of cancer treatments. Few would dispute that there is a need for cheap and plentiful cancer drugs. Our feathered friends are probably not among the primary candidates to satisfy that need, but laying hens may, one day, play a significant role in helping to treat cancer if work being carried out in Japan proves to be a success. Eggs may already have cemented their position as a good source of nutrition, and have an established history in vaccine production, but modified eggs being developed in Japan may prove to be a source of interferon beta protein, which can be used to treat a variety of illnesses, including cancer and multiple sclerosis. Research using genetically-modified hens has been carried out jointly by country’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the National Agricultural and Food Research Organization and life sciences company Cosmo Bio.