Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine recently found a potential new treatment for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that uses genetically modified cows to produce antibodies to fight the infection.

The new approach protected mice from the infection during the study, as published in Science Translational Medicine journal.

The genetically modified cows are able to mimic specific segments of the immune system in humans. Researchers injected the cows with a MERS vaccine so the animals would produce large volumes of anti-MERS antibodies. Then, the researchers purified the antibodies to create the therapy that was used in mice infected with MERS.