glow in dark kitties science silliniess

Glow-in-the-Dark Kitties: Science, Silliniess, or Just Plain Scary?

Through genetic manipulation, South Korean geneticists have been able

to not only "turn-on" the fluorescence protein in cat embryos, but

have also successfully cloned the animal.

A team of scientists led by Kong Il-keun, a cloning expert at

Gyeongsang National University, produced three cats possessing

altered fluorescence protein (RFP) genes, the Ministry of Science

and Technology said.

Source: South Koreans Clone Cats that Glow in the Dark

While the ability to glow-in-the-dark in and of itself isn't a

significant medical advancement, the ability to clone genetically

altered animals is. This is big news in the fledgling field of genetic

medicine, as it is now possible to create the ultimate control group

for testing: exact copies of animals afflicted with diseases that

humans suffer from (cats and humans share more than 200 of the same

afflictions).

Other applications of the technology:

* genetically engineering livestock that emit less methane

* cloning endangered species, slightly reconfigured to adapt to

altered or new habitats

* designer pets and flourescent foodstuffs

Some would argue that all of these possibilities raise important

ethical questions, but I would counter that the overall question of

whether or not genetic engineering is ethical has been settled since

humanity first started to selectively breed livestock, pets, and

produce; the rest is just details.

Consider what happened when transgenic artist Eduardo Kac commissioned

the engineered breeding of Alba, a glow-in-the-dark rabbit from French

geneticists. A firestorm of protest by animal rights activists who

dubbed the process "abusive" caused the French team to renege and keep

the animal rather than turn the rabbit over to Kac.

Whether or not living out her life in seclusion (Alba is not

accessible to the general public and whether or not the animal is

still alive is unknown) as a lab specimen has given Alba a better

quality of life than she would have had otherwise is a very poignant -

and, to date - unanswered question. Because Alba isn't accessible to

the public, whether or not she suffered any ill side effects from the

genetic manipulation that made her glow in the dark is also unknown.

Given that Kac intended the animal to be the family pet and to

showcase his family's relationship with the animal as a form of

artistic expression, my personal opinion is a resounding "no." While

it may well be true that the science used to create Alba could have

been better applied elsewhere, the effort expended to protest her

"abuse" would have been better spent protesting Kentucky Fried

Chicken, veal producers, or some other enterprise that engages in the