Bill Gates and the UK government investing hundreds of millions of pounds creating a race of super cows… is not the plot of an upcoming low-budget sci-fi movie.
No, it's 2018 so that's a real thing that's happening. Bill Gates, the billionaire behind Microsoft, and Theresa May's actual government are joining forces to create genetically-enhanced cows and chickens.
Sadly, by 'super cows', Bill doesn't mean that we'll be seeing an all-cow line-up of the Avengers protecting the world from North Korean nuclear weapons any time soon. (But we can dream, right?).
All of this money — £28 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and £90 million more from Britain's Department for International Development — is actually going to be spent in a genuinely intriguing way.
It will pay for research into vaccines impacting the breeding of cows and chickens, so that they can produce more milk and better quality eggs, respectively. There are also hopes of developing crops that are drought and climate resistant (via Reuters).
Should the project be successful, both Gates and the British government will partner with the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines to help make these resources available to struggling farmers in countries across Africa and South Asia, where livestock accounts for huge sources of income.
"If you care about the poor, you should care about agriculture. And if you care about agriculture, you care about livestock," Gates told an audience at the University of Edinburgh.
"What that means in this context is helping poor farmers get as much as possible out of their animals."
So before you start dreaming up nightmare scenarios where these super cows catch Mad Cow Disease and bring forth a Cowpocalypse, keep in mind that this seemingly far-fetched plan may help change lives across the world someday.
Night News Editor
Justin has been with Digital Spy since 2010, and in that time, has covered countless major news events for DS from the US.
He has worked previously as both a reporter and sub editor for the brand, prior to taking on the position of Night News Editor in 2016.
Over more than a decade, he has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. As a US contributor to Digital Spy, Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.
