We all know that a bowl of hot chicken soup has always been one of the best remedies for a variety of household ailments. However, thanks to scientific research, eggs from genetically-modified chickens can now contain pharmaceutical proteins, which in turn, can be harvested and turned into virus-fighting drugs.

British scientists Dr. Helen M. Sang and her team, all from the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, UK, began their experiments by creating new genetic material which was a combination of a hen's genes which regulate the egg white production, and a gene which makes human antibodies that target malignant melanoma. This new gene was then injected into the embryo of a fertilized and newly-laid egg, which was then cared for until it hatched.

The resulting chick then grew and was bred, and then its own batch of fertilized eggs were examined to see if any of it were transgenic. These transgenic eggs were again cared for until they hatched. It was then this third generation of chickens that laid the eggs containing the melanoma-fighting pharmaceutical proteins, which were first introduced at the beginning of the experiment.

To prove that the proteins were still usable and effective, they harvested the antibodies from the egg white and used it on a test virus. The antibodies were then proven to be active.

Dr. Sang has noted that they are hoping to produce various other protein drugs via this method. According to her, she is hoping that using transgenic chickens as an alternative production platform would "bring down the costs of drugs that currently are prohibitively expensive".