The world’s first genetically-modified cow with high level of Omega-3 fatty acid is nine-months old, healthy and expected to produce milk rich in the fatty acid essential for human health.

“We did not announce the birth of the clone cows until now because it has taken time to check the cows’ effective genetic traces,” said Li, head of the Biological Technology Lab at Inner Mongolia University.

Li said it takes 14-15 months for a cow to become sexually mature, and another nine months to produce milk.

“We expect the cow to be able to produce milk with high Omega-3 content next year,” he said.

He said the cows have been fed with normal cow feed.

Dubbed a “good fat”, Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid necessary for human health. But it cannot be made by the human body. It is abundant in walnuts and coldwater fish like herring, mackerel and sturgeon.

“Another two cloned cows with the ’fish oil’ gene were born on Tuesday. It will take time to see whether they are healthy,” Li said.

Li said the program involved a team of experts from China and the United States, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Lai Liangxue and the University of Pittsburgh’s Yifan Dai.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet