GENETICALLY engineering farm animals so they can produce their own omega-3 oils would improve their health and ours, and benefit the environment, claims a team in Boston. "It's a double bonus, good for animals and humans," says Jing Kang of the Harvard Medical School, whose team has proved this could be done by adding a nematode gene to mice.
Most animals, including people, cannot make their own omega-3 oils, fatty acids credited with reducing heart attacks, as well as many other benefits (see "Omega-3 might help diabetics"). Like fish, we can convert the shorter-chain omega-3 made by plants and marine algae into the long-chain omega-3 oils essential for health, but meat, milk or eggs containing the long-chain form are the best source. Many farmers feed their animals fishmeal, rich in omega-3, to improve their health.
But nematode worms can make their own omega-3 oils with an enzyme that converts ...
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