US scientists have genetically engineered an omega-3-packed pig which promises healthier bacon sarnies.

The piglets - born at the University of Missouri-Columbia - contain a worm gene named "fat-1". This "produced an enzyme that converted the less desirable omega-6 fatty acids that the pigs naturally produced into omega-3s", as the reserchers explained in Nature Biotechnology, Reuters reports

Pregnant women are told to eat a diet rich in omega-3s, but are also told to avoid excessive amounts of fish which may be high in mercury. Oily fish are dieticians' traditional recommended source of omega-3s.

But it is uncertain if we will ever benefit from the lifesaving black pudding. Regulators are still mulling whether genetically-modified animals should ever be allowed for human consumption, and the reaction of the public to a plateful of Frankenstein pork chops is uncertain.

In any case, some scientists have begun to cast doubts on the alleged benefits of omega-3s. According to a BBC report last week, researchers led by a team from the University of East Anglia "reviewed 89 studies into the health effects of omega-3 fats", finding "no clear evidence that they are of any use at all".

Specifically, "findings suggested the fats did nothing to prevent a recurrence of chronic heart conditions" and "men with angina given high amounts of oily fish were at a greater risk of heart attack". ®

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