"Wanted: A Breed of Chicken That Can Survive Crippling Heatwaves"

"US scientists fear climate change could have devastating effects on poultry farmers as temperatures reach scorching levels"

"Americ an scientists are racing to develop chickens that can cope with scorching heat as part of a series of government-funded programmes looking to adapt to or mitigate the effects of extreme weather patterns on the food supply.

A University of Delaware project is developing ways to introduce climate hardiness to the US domestic breed stock before summer heatwaves predicted under climate change models kill or spoil the meat of billions of birds.

Backing for lead scientist Professor Carl Schmidt's programme comes from the top. This month President Barack Obama, seeking to make stricter regulations on carbon emissions a centrepiece of his second term, described the effects of climate change as 'a problem affecting Americans right now'."

Edward Helmore reports for the Guardian May 24, 2014.