Dolly team creates designer chicks

The desired proteins are found in egg-white

The scientists who produced Dolly the sheep clone are reported to have created designer chickens that can help produce drugs to fight cancer.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper says the researchers have altered the hens' genetic make-up so they lay eggs containing pharmacologically useful proteins.

The Roslin Institute scientists, the creators of Dolly, are to unveil one particular genetically modified chicken named Britney at Edinburgh Castle on Wednesday.

The Roslin team have been working on the chicken project with experts in the US.

'Pharming' future

Proteins in egg-white are produced according to instructions encoded in the hen's genes.

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Altering the genetic material in a cell's nucleus can lead to a chicken that will lay eggs full of proteins that can be used in drug production. A chicken can lay as many as 250 eggs a year. This makes "pharming", as it is called, an attractive method for producing drug components.

Britney was developed over two years by US biotech company Viragen and the Roslin Institute. It is understood that proteins in her egg-white can be used in drugs to treat various illnesses including ovarian cancer and breast cancer.

A spokesman for Viragen has refused to comment in advance of the official announcement. No-one from the Roslin Institute was available for comment.