Two to three portions of GM mice a week to get omega 3…

By 19. May 2014Blog, Health, Nutrition

…is of course a joke on my part, but news in this week is that researchers have created transgenic (or genetically modified) mice that can produce essential omega fatty acids.

The mice are able to produce both omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. It is hoped the mice can be used to study the effect of different amounts of the omega fatty acids on health. It has been reported that while omega 3 fatty acids (found in fish, algae and some vegetables) have anti-inflammatory properties, omega 6 fatty acids (that mostly comes from vegetable oil) have been implicated as causing inflammation.

It is believed that humans evolved on an omega 3:omega 6 ratio of 1:1, current western diets can have ratios in excess of 1:10. The researchers bred together mice that had genes inserted from round worms to produce either omega 3 or omega 6 to produce the mice that could produce both.

It’s a shame GM of our foods is not more acceptable. I could imagine beef or pork high in omega 3 would be a big hit among the non fish eaters.

The research is published in the Journal PLOS.