Biotechnology: Unique porker meets public

"Copypig No. 3," one of three cloned pigs carrying double transgenes, is scheduled to make its debut Friday at the 2002 Taipei International Biotech Fair, industrial sources said yesterday. Taiwan's first transgenic and cloned pigs, which have double transgenes of pig DNA and human DNA, were created earlier this year, marking a milestone in the nation's genetic engineering research. The development of cloned pigs carrying double transgenes, also the first of their kind in the world, is medically significant as the animals' genetic makeup harbors structure genes of porcine lactoferrin and human factor IX -- the former are useful for developing agents to help raise pig immunity and the latter can be made into protein drugs for treating leukemia.