BSE-immune cow created

JAPANESE and US scientists claim to have created a cow that will be immune to BSE, according to the BBC.

The scientists made the cow, due to be born next year, immune to the disease by genetically manipulating the embryo.

By that method the prion protein, which scientists believe can lead to BSE, was removed.

The cow will be used to develop medicines, and the Japanese company involved in the research, Kirin, said it had no plans to breed BSE-immune cows for food.

It is hoped the research will help to produce new drugs for diseases such as hepatitis C, pneumonia and rheumatism, the BBC reports.