Scientists have created a genetically engineered hen so that it actually lays golden eggs.
And these golden eggs aren’t just special because of their color.
Is gold a color?
I’m going to call it a color, and you’re going to like it.
Anyways, these eggs are actually going to help with a variety of medical conditions
and I’m going to tell you how, right now on IO.
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Who remembers the Aesops story about the golden eggs?
Well for those who forget, the story goes like this.
A cottager and his wife had a hen that laid a golden egg.
So they killed the hen to find out if she had a lump of gold inside her, hoping to become
rich.
Once they killed her, they found out she was no different from the other hens.
The story is about greed.
The couple could have been rich if they waited for the hen to lay a golden egg every day,
but instead they killed the hen in order to become rich all at once.
Scientists at Japans’ Biomedical research institute recently published a paper in the
Journal Scientific Reports, where they say they have created hens that produce golden
eggs.
Not literal golden eggs, that would be amazing.
But think of golden as somewhat of a metaphor because these eggs are going to be hella expensive.
They might as well be golden eggs, but more on that in a minute.
The hen that was engineered by scientists is able to produce quote golden eggs that
have a special protein in them.
Its called interferon beta.
This protein might be able to treat a variety of medical conditions, like hepatitis, multiple
sclerosis and cancer.
Heres how.
Interferon beta is an anti viral protein.
Humans actually produce it naturally in our own bodies in order to ward off infections.
Its believed among the medical community that if its used as medicine, and given to a sick
patient, it could help fight off infections and diseases like cancer.
Until now, interferon beta was really hard to make artificially, like I said, its produced
naturally in our bodies.
So how did scientists find a way around this?
They modified the DNA of a chicken that makes protiens, aka egg whites, to produce a different
kind of protein.
Interferon beta.
Don’t you just love science?
The egg whites of chicken eggs have been altered before.
Protiens that are essential to the flu vaccine have been produced in chicken eggs.
The first batch of genetically engineered hens were sterile, but then the second generation
of hens were producing eggs with far cloudier egg whites than the first.
The egg whites from the second generation had a whole lot of interferon beta in them.
So how much are these magical cancer curing golden eggs going to cost?
500 thousand dollars to 2.6 million dollars each.
EACH.
The more of the protein there is in the egg, the more the egg is going to cost.
The total amount of interferon beta ranges from 30 milligrams to 60 milligrams per egg.
That might sound like a lot, but if eating one of these golden eggs is the difference
between a cancer survivor beating their disease and not, its not that bad considering how
expensive medical bills are in the united states.
The bills for cancer patients are on the rise.
In 2011, Americans paid 88.7 billion dollars for treatments, and sometimes the treatments
didn’t even work.
Not to mention, chemotherapy takes a really terrible tole on the body.
By 2020, the projected total of cancer bills could be as much as 157.7 billion.
More than half a million American people die from cancer every year.
It’s the second leading cause of death in the US.
To break it down, for an extra year of life, it costs cancer patients between 139 thousand
dollars to 207 thousand dollars.
So when you think about it, its not that bad, especially if these eggs don’t have side
effects and are actually effective at combatting diseases.
The good news is, Over time, the golden eggs should get cheaper, but right now they are
very rare.
They only have about 20 hens in house that produce eggs as regularly as golden hens.
The team behind the golden eggs is currently working with a Japanese reagent maker called
Cosmo Bio, to see if there is commercial product potential.
Obviously testing on humans needs to be done and found successful before these eggs can
hit the market, but the general consensus in the scientific community is that if you
supplement interferon-beta in the human body, it should successfully kill off disease.
Anyways guys, super interesting stuff, let me know what you think of this story in the
comments down below but for now I’m going to respond to some comments from previous
videos.
Lovellyn Dovey – Charlotte raging about puppets having a sexual orientation is the
best thing I’ve seen all day.
You liked that huh?
Me too.
Obviously not actually angry, just raging for your entertainment.
Apo- informoverload is so great!
It has made me want to keep up with the world news and I think youtube should monetize channels
like this.
Oh thanks for the support.
Steve Hunt – I cant even watch tv news…its all depressing stuff.
No stories about anything good going on in the world.
That’s why I come here…to see positive things and be entertained at the same time.
Keep up the good work guys!
Thank you steve!
We do try to keep it light and entertaining on this channel because you’re right, the
news can be really depressing.
Matthew Bernal – Does charlotte like chicken wings?
She seems like the kinda person that would be cool to just chill and eat wings with.
You are right about that matthew.
I really want some spicy wings now mmm.
Anime Lover – charlotte can you please tell me a joke your so so funny.
What do scientists use to freschen their breath?
Experimints.
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