Glow-In-The-Dark Cats Are Superior.

The_Raven on 13/12/2007 at 16:58

I don't know about any of you guys, but this (http://inventorspot.com/articles/scientists_create_glowinthedark__9191) item has me scratching my head.

Glow-in-the-dark cats? Those crazy South Koreans.

I don't know much about genetic manipulation, but some of this stuff seems a little shifty.

Quote:

The scientists, from Gyeongsang National University in South Korea, explained that they used the skin cells of the mother cat for cloning. To modify its genes, they inserted a virus in the skin cells, which were then transplanted into the mother's womb.

No doubt they're talking about some type of altered retrovirus, but it still doesn't strike me as a particular safe method of gene altering.

I wonder if this is going to start some sort of new branch of Lolcats.

Mingan on 13/12/2007 at 17:32

From what I know of these kind of things, retrovirussing a new gene is the best approach. It's also very safe, the virus being unable to 'reproduce' and infect other organisms.

SubJeff on 13/12/2007 at 19:00

Gene altering is gene altering. Any vector has the possibility of being dangerous. Those cats are great. I want one.

Pyrian on 13/12/2007 at 20:27

Quote Posted by Subjective Effect

The any vector has the possibility of being dangerous.

Existing has the possibility of being dangerous. :rolleyes:

catbarf on 13/12/2007 at 20:27

Using synthetic viruses to alter genes... it's an awesome idea. It's amazing how efficiently it works.

jtr7 on 13/12/2007 at 20:48

Quote Posted by Pyrian

Existing has the possibility of being dangerous. :rolleyes:

Yeah. Heh heh. So why add more problems to the mix?:mad:

Think of the children! No...really!

(Goes to make a placard....)
"Cat's that glow? Hell no!"

BrokenArts on 13/12/2007 at 20:55

Might come in handy. Cats barf in the middle of the night, you can see it on the floor as it glows in the dark. You don't have to worry about stepping in it.

Zygoptera on 13/12/2007 at 21:09

How dangerous it is depends on how you define it. You won't get gigantic Goodies'esque kittens glowing in the dark and terrorising Seoul<sup>1</sup>. But having an engineered retrovirus inserted into your genome is not something I would advise except under extreme circumstances as, contrary to how some scientists describe (or imply), such things are not exact science. Or in other words, it may not be dangerous to you or I, but it's certainly not great for the thing being altered.

<sup>1</sup>Probably not anyway, though it would be cool.

jtr7 on 13/12/2007 at 21:24

Impact on other species in the food chain? I don't know if rodents would see the cat coming and escape, or if the badass mouse-killer still wins. And can the cats be eaten? If they're not cooked, can the virus be ingested by the predator and suffer gene modification custom-made for the cat? Impact on the food chain and secondary ecological, environmental, and health issues are a possibility if these cats are let out and breed.

It would be cool if anything they swallowed was made to glow, but that's not gonna happen.

Hopefully the researchers will make a FAQ available.:cheeky:

SubJeff on 13/12/2007 at 22:51

Quote Posted by Pyrian

Existing has the possibility of being dangerous. :rolleyes:

What is the point of this post? I posted in answer to the "I don't know much about genetic manipulation, but some of this stuff seems a little shifty."

Quote:

If they're not cooked, can the virus be ingested by the predator and suffer gene modification custom-made for the cat?

Highly unlikely.