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[/floatr]KIPPO: Antibody made from ostrich eggs
Yasuhiro Tsukamoto, a professor at Kyoto Prefectural University, has developed a technique to produce a large amount of antibodies for infectious diseases and cancer from ostrich yolks and established a venture business to commercialize them. Initially, he will soon produce an antibody against the H5N1strain of bird flu, which is feared to mutate and spread from human to human. It will be incorporated into face masks to be marketed this autumn. Massive demand from medical institutions and local governments is expected as part of their preparations to deal with a potential pandemic of a mutated strain of flu...Birds have an immune system to protect chicks by concentrating blood-contained antibodies into yolks, making it possible to produce good-quality antibodies. As an ostrich egg is 25 to 30 times heavier than a hen egg, massive antibody refinement is possible. Compared with the use of a rabbit, an amount of antibodies 800 times greater can be produced. With an antibody from one ostrich egg, it is said 80,000 face masks and reagents for more than 20,000 people can be produced...more...
There's a joke there somewhere about having egg on your face, isn't there?
