Get Custom Shoes Made From Genetically-Engineered Stingrays

[WMDogma]

Get Custom Shoes Made From Genetically-Engineered Stingrays

Scientist raises the bar on custom-made fashion.

If you've got some cash to burn and are in dire need of a new pair of shoes, here's something to check out. A company called Rayfish [http://www.rayfish.com/], operating primarily out of Thailand, now offers custom-designed sneakers made from genetically engineered stingrays.

Here's how it works: Visitors to the company's website can choose from a selection of patterns, and when their order is placed, the company will then use some fancy genetic wizardry to grow a transgenic stingray with their custom design. The fish are grown in an aquaculture facility and then harvested as leather for the shoes, which are constructed at a seperate factory in Thailand. Each pair is truly unique from the other, straight down to the genetic level.

Currently, Rayfish is accepting limited orders for these shoes, which cost roughly between $14,800 and $16,200 USD. If that's just a little out of your price range right now, general production is slated to begin later this year and bring the price down to a more reasonable $1800 USD. There are also some limits to the technology, as Rayfish can't breed any shapes or logos into the fishes, as the process works through recording and recombining DNA from existing animals.

"Squares are for instance not possible, as the expression of the DNA on the skin doesn't allow it," explained Dr. Raymond Ong, head of Rayfish Footwear. "The patterns that grow on the actual fish sometimes slightly differ from what you see in the design tool. Although it is almost perfect, we are still developing the mapping between the design tool and the DNA encoding further."

Source: MSNBC Tech [http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669906/mad-scientists-offer-1500-shoes-made-from-genetically-engineered-stingrays#1]

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[Agow95]

This is one of the main reasons I love genetic engineering, we can now design the patterns that grows on an animals skin/scales/whatever squids have

 

[deathninja]

Stories like this make me wonder if we'll end up putting tits on a fish (and ruin that old adage forever...) before we get new resilient crops or better therapeutics.

 

[Cry Wolf]

Is it wrong that I'm thinking of a cruel joke wherein someone sends a pair of these to the estate of Steve Irwin?

Seriously, two bloody posts in and I'm ninja'd. Well played.

 

[Scarim Coral]

This kind of putting me off abit. I don't like the idea of some Stingray get some pattern I wanted on it, killed and parts or most of it will become footwear for my feet. No I ain't a peachy animal right activists but I don't personally want an animal to be killed to become my clothing.

 

[Xan Krieger]

We develop amazing technology and this is what it's used for? To make an animal which is then killed for freakin footwear? Humanity, y u no use technology responsibly?

Is it wrong that I'm thinking of a cruel joke wherein someone sends a pair of these to the estate of Steve Irwin?

Nope, I thought of something similar.

 

[ThatLankyBastard]

Am I a terrible person for wanting a pair?

...like... really... REALLY badly??

More seriously: the Animal Rights Activists are gonna have a field day with this one, but it`s a practical use of genetic engineering... Personally, I`m all for it!

Captcha= Exercise More

...what the fuck are you trying to say computer?

 

[One of Many]

Is it wrong that I'm thinking of a cruel joke wherein someone sends a pair of these to the estate of Steve Irwin?

Nah, I personally think everyone should chip in a few cents and by a pair for each of his kids.

"You killed my father....prepare to be footwear!"

This kind of putting me off abit. I don't like the idea of some Stingray get some pattern I wanted on it, killed and parts or most of it will become footwear for my feet. No I ain't a peachy animal right activists but I don't personally want an animal to be killed to become my clothing.

Do you wear or use leather in any form? Or any other clothing made from animal products?

 

[Hattingston]

This kind of putting me off abit. I don't like the idea of some Stingray get some pattern I wanted on it, killed and parts or most of it will become footwear for my feet. No I ain't a peachy animal right activists but I don't personally want an animal to be killed to become my clothing.

Do you wear or use leather in any form? Or any other clothing made from animal products?

Not quite the same. If I buy a leather jacket, that cow is dead. Not buying the jacket will not resurrect it. These shoes result in a unique species being bred, raised and killed because I want to make shoes out of its skin. On a related note, while the concept of custom leather is cool, the means seem...disturbing.

 

[RaNDM G]

Those poor sad stingrays. I just want to give them all a big hug and tell them it will be okay.

Come here little guy, I won- GAH FUCK IT STABBED ME!

 

[One of Many]

This kind of putting me off abit. I don't like the idea of some Stingray get some pattern I wanted on it, killed and parts or most of it will become footwear for my feet. No I ain't a peachy animal right activists but I don't personally want an animal to be killed to become my clothing.

Do you wear or use leather in any form? Or any other clothing made from animal products?

Not quite the same. If I buy a leather jacket, that cow is dead. Not buying the jacket will not resurrect it. These shoes result in a unique species being bred, raised and killed because I want to make shoes out of its skin. On a related note, while the concept of custom leather is cool, the means seem...disturbing.

Very true, although it could be argued that the cow was bred, raised and killed because someone wanted to make a jacket out of it's skin and you bought it.

However, I was looking more for clarity out of Scarim Coral. Saying "I don't personally want an animal to be killed to become my clothing" implies more then saying "I don't personally want an animal to be customized, raised and kill just be my footwear".

 

[crepesack]

I'm a fish hobbyist (aquarist) and I can tell you that there's no way they can GM fish like this in such a short amount of time. My suspicion is that the fish are probably dyed or tattooed (a common practice with east asian fish farmers) for those colors. Using a laser, melanin is burned off and pigment is applied on the skin. Unscrupulous fish dealers sell these fish at a premium with varying designs painfully etched into the surface of the fish.

Or you know they use pleather/normal leather/ray leather and just DYE it afterwords. My guess either:
a. Unscrupulous merchant
b. PR stunt
c. Another "inspired and meaningful" art project/hoax

There ARE however actual GM fish available to the hobbyist that have comb jellyfish dna transposed into them. They fluoresce various colors under blacklight.

Also as a BCM major this is utter bullshit: Nature has already done the design work for us. All we have to do is identify the genes responsible for coloration and patterning, and then implant the 'supergene' cluster into fetal rays before they are born. As the ray grows over the course of several months, it gradually expresses the predetermined patterns on its skin.

 

[gigastar]

Um... How has this gotten to us before the animal rights nutcases activists?

Either way, shitstorms abound over this if its real.

 

[him over there]

That's pretty cool, but I'm hoping they make miniature mantas for household aquariums. A pipe dream yes but is there anything cooler than Manta or Sting rays?

 

[Rednog]

Stories like this make me wonder if we'll end up putting tits on a fish (and ruin that old adage forever...) before we get new resilient crops or better therapeutics.

Considering how big the scam of "organic" has become, seriously it is a billion dollar industry, it will be a very long time before the world wakes up. The demand just isn't there because most of the world's population shits their pants when they hear about science that surpasses the grade school level. It really reflects poorly on the human species when science gets slapped down by people's nonsense.

 

[Brutal Peanut]

Meh, I'm not that interested. Seems like they'd make my feet sweaty.

 

[VanQ]

This kind of putting me off abit. I don't like the idea of some Stingray get some pattern I wanted on it, killed and parts or most of it will become footwear for my feet. No I ain't a peachy animal right activists but I don't personally want an animal to be killed to become my clothing.

Do you wear or use leather in any form? Or any other clothing made from animal products?

Not quite the same. If I buy a leather jacket, that cow is dead. Not buying the jacket will not resurrect it. These shoes result in a unique species being bred, raised and killed because I want to make shoes out of its skin. On a related note, while the concept of custom leather is cool, the means seem...disturbing.

It is, actually. Sting Rays ARE edible and are served all around the world. Most likely, they just threw the skin away previously and have now just come up with a way to use that as well. Not any different from a cow when you think about it.

 

[Doom-Slayer]

Okay....I eat meat...I LIKE meat..thiiis? This is a bit wierd. Specifically designing animals for the sole purpose of wearing them...kiiiind of odd.