News Animals

Gene editing can make chickens resistant to bird flu

Some modified birds still got infected, limiting the technique’s usefulness for now

A photo of two similar-looking white chickens looking at each other.

Researchers genetically edited chickens (one shown at right) to make the birds resistant to an avian influenza infection. The modified chickens were as healthy as an unedited bird (left).

A. Idoko-Akoh et al/Nature Communications 2023

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

Chickens genetically modified to be impervious to bird flu may one day prevent the spread of the disease on farms, a study suggests.