LONDON Pushing back the boundaries of science still further, Scotland's Roslin Institute the lab which created Dolly the cloned sheep is now trying to find out if hens which listen to music are more relaxed and productive. The scientists are testing the belief held by many British farmers that bigger eggs result from daily blasts of music in the chicken coop.

We expect it to make them more alert, but it could also mean that they perform better in terms of egg-laying, said Doctor Bryan Jones, adding that the experiment's results will be published in the next few months. In turning to tunes, the institute is building on research which last month proved that the chickens were calmer and laid more and bigger eggs after a daily dose of television.

The technique is also being refined to find out if the fowl have a preference for jazz, classical or rock music. The idea is to make the environment more interesting for the birds and make them less easily frightened by other noises that they experience, Jones said. (AFP)