Next pet craze, glow in the dark cloned pets!

[ShaneGR]

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/13/514602.aspx



South Korean scientists say they have cloned cats whose genes have been altered so that they glow in the dark - taking advantage of a technological twist that could someday be used to make more dramatic genetic changes in all sorts of creatures.

A research team at Gyeongsang National University, headed by Kong Il-Keun, produced several kitty clones in January and February, the government-managed Korea.net news service reported Wednesday. This week the scientists showed off the cats, which now weigh about 7 pounds (3 to 3.5 kilograms) and glow a dull red under ultraviolet light.

"The ability to manipulate the fluorescent protein and use this to clone cats opens new horizons for artificially creating animals with human illnesses linked to genetic causes," the Ministry of Science and Technology said in Wednesday's report.

The procedure for cloning a cat has been around for six years, and Kong himself first performed that particular feat back in 2004. What's noteworthy about the newly reported twist - other than that glow-in-the-dark kitties are really cool - is that scientists fiddled with the donor cat's genetic code, then passed those changes on to the clones.

Here's what the researchers say they did: They took skin cells from Turkish Angora female cats and used a virus to insert the genetic instructions for making red fluorescent protein. Then they put the gene-altered nuclei into eggs for cloning. The cloned embryos were implanted back into the donor cats, which effectively became the surrogate mothers for their own clones.

[porphyrian]

1. Just wait until they make genetic glow tatoos for people. -n/t

[BuyingThyme]

2. Well it's about time.

[The Straight Story]

3. That will make em easier to hunt at night

:)

[BuyingThyme]

4. :spank:

:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:
:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:
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:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:
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:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[Gidney N Cloyd]

5. What we really need is glow in the dark dog poop.

With the short winter days it's hard to keep up with the minefield in my back yard.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. Now THAT is a useful idea!!!!

:rofl:

[proud patriot]

9. LOL

:rofl:

:thumbsup:

[Swamp Rat]

10. LOL!

:rofl:

[BrklynLiberal]

7. As someone suggested in a previous post about this..glow-in-the-dark deer should have been first on

the list.

[MonkeyFunk]

8. A pet craze?

The article says "several" were created, and makes no mention of selling them as pets.