Next up from science we shouldn’t do: Alligator chickens

I get that we need to study and experiment with things in our world but at what point does experimentation cross the line into WTF!

Well I think that line could be this one that has researchers trying to turn back the hands of time with chickens. Scientists have recently found that because chickens and alligators share a common ancestor from way back in some Cretaceous period of time that by using a special protein they can suppress certain genetic signalling processes that control the chicken’s anatomical development.

 Harvard researcher Arhat Abzhanov has been able to alter the development of chicken embryos so that instead of beaks, they grow snouts like alligators. Essentially, this is rewinding evolution, causing the chicken to genetically regress back to when all chickens were actually dinosaurs. With enough tweaking, Abzhanov hopes to eventually hatch one of these out of a modified chicken egg:

via DVICE

Really, do we need to go down this road?