Taiwanese scientists say they have inadvertently developed a two-headed fish.

They genetically engineered the two-headed fluorescent zebrafish during studies into muscular dystrophy.

Experts from the Academia Sinica put a gene that causes muscle death into 200 zebrafish embryos.

One of them unexpectedly developed 24 hours later into the two-headed fish, which has two hearts.

Researchers believe it's the first time such a zebrafish has been documented anywhere in the world.

Huang Chang-jen, an associate research fellow, who created the fish, said: "You can say they are actually a big zebrafish and a small one sharing a body."

Huang hopes the research results will be used to develop drugs to cure muscular dystrophy, reports the Taipei Times.

Story filed: 14:56 Friday 16th January 2004

Gives whole new meaning to "Made in Taiwan".

EDITOR'S NOTE: It looks like something I would Photoshop, yet it's not!