Researchers at Harvard Medical School have genetically engineered chickens to grow legs instead of wings, according to a report Friday in the journal Science.
In an effort to better understand how embryos form, Dr. Malcolm Logan working in the laboratory of Dr. Cliff Tabin injected a specific gene found only in chicken legs into the forming wing of a chicken embryo.
Logan said the embryonic wings then began taking on characteristics of legs. In appearance and musculature, the wings were showing signs of becoming legs.
But this isn't a project designed to make four-legged chickens destined for the fryer. Logan said there are no agricultural intentions to the project.
"Our interests are in understanding how the embryo normally develops," he said. "We use the chicken as a model system to better understand human developments."
Logan said he hopes the research will eventually lead to repairing congenital limb deformations in humans. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health.
