Scientists at the Gyeongsang National University in South Korea have cloned cats that have the ability to glow-in-the dark when exposed to ultraviolet
light. By inserting a virus into the skin cells of a mother cat and placing those contaminated cells into the womb, scientists were able to prove that
it was possible to clone an animal with a manipulated gene. Apparently, this development could allow for a better understanding of human genetic
diseases in the future. But what about the benefits of glowing cats?
CR83 - 12-13-2007 at 06:57 PM
creepyDiscipline - 12-13-2007 at 07:49 PM
Poor kitty.upyerbum - 12-13-2007 at 09:18 PM
Cuz there's absolutely nothing more pressing in this world than making cats glow in the dark. Too bad they couldn't put this shit in tha taliban's
drinking water.clevohardcore - 12-13-2007 at 09:25 PM
this would alter life as we know it. Its the butterfly effect. The cat would no longer be albe to hunt and then become extinct. Soon rats will rule
the world. Kind of like white trash in a Walmart. Things would be chaos.Siczine.com - 12-13-2007 at 09:51 PM
Holy shit those scientists should have their degrees revoked.defstarsteve - 12-13-2007 at 10:12 PM
well they only glow under uv lights, like blacklights, so they could still hunt
but stoners would all get cats.defstarsteve - 12-13-2007 at 10:17 PM
This genetic manipulation shit pisses me off to no end.
This is the end.moforn - 12-14-2007 at 12:44 AM
I agree that the wisdom of engineering cats to glow in the dark is questionable (at best), but from a purely technical/genetic perspective the fact
that such anomalies can be brought about by the introduction of a virus to an embryo (with it's interesting, if unsettling, ability to manipulate the
genome) is very interesting. While I don't trust privately funded scientists to use this technology for benevolent purposes, there is theoretically
no reason that this technology couldn't be used to alleviate much of the suffering borne by humanity. For example- if a cat's hair can be made to
glow in the dark, surely a type I diabetics Islets of Langerhans could be manipulated to produce insulin, the brain of a Tourette's sufferer could be
tempered in it's dopamine production, the intestinal walls of someone afflicted with Crohn's could perhaps be made to be less prone to inflammation.
This hope may be a bit optimistic, but this technology currently in it's embryonic stage (pardon the pun) may yet prove to be a boon to countless
people suffering from genetically mediated disorders.SHAKO KEN - 12-14-2007 at 03:42 AM
exactly. there's lots of experiments being done with viruses transfecting the luciferase gene from fireflies into mammalian cells so they light up. it
makes it easy to see if the technique worked at all and where the affected cells ended up. it's just a way to test the delivery method.
in this case part of the motivation may have been to attract attention/funding with a spectacular experiment.upyerbum - 12-14-2007 at 08:06 AM
The world is going to be taken over by an army of Hugo Chavez clones soon anyway.
