Researchers have developed gene-edited chickens that are partially resistant to bird flu.
Although the birds are not completely immune, the scientists say their work shows it might be possible to block the virus in three years.
Professor Helen Sang, of the the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, said the team had made significant progress. The resulting chickens had no side effects after two years. They also had increased resistance to bird flu, but were not fully immune: half the chickens infected with a high dose of the virus developed an infection.
But Prof Mike McGrew, also of the Roslin Institute, told BBC News that experiments in test tubes showed if changes are made to all three genes, then a fully resistant bird might be possible. The researchers are trying to identify the further genetic changes required, before producing gene-edited chickens for the next phase of their research.
Peter Stevenson, of Compassion in World Farming said the use of gene editing to tackle diseases in farms risked making it easier for animals to be kept in poor conditions.
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