New Genetically Modified Cats Are Cute, Cuddly And Fluorescent

[Ghengis John]

i want a glowing kitty named 'nukey'

imagine the pranks you could pull..

Would it be in poor taste to tell people it came from Fukushima, Japan?

 

[Robert Ewing]

This is awesome. Science wins.

Use this kitten on a pro-science campaign and you will win everything ever.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

d'awwwwwww...
okay, now a serious question:
can i have a glow in the dark human baby?
and when will you be able to also give people retractable bone claws?

 

[The Lugz]

i want a glowing kitty named 'nukey'

imagine the pranks you could pull..

Would it be in poor taste to tell people it came from Fukushima, Japan?

not in the slightest. i'd do it without thinking

it would be worth it just to see people's reactions.

 

[Knusper]

Wait how is this a new thing? I remember reading back a few years ago in my biology text that they did the same thing with cats except they glowed orange.

Yeah I remember hearing on the radio of a glowing orange cat that was bred in Korea. Still, I guess this means that they could breed (or whatever the word is) a cat that changes colours.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

Okay, trying to find a cure to HIV, even if it were just the feline equivalent, is a noble cause, but why did they need to make glowing kittens? It's like science is just trying to please the hordes of the internet, so they can get back to doing the same old boring sh*t.

Probably to demonstrate the concept (not that it was misunderstood before) and get used to the particular canvas upon which these scientific breakthroughs will be crafted.

Oh... that makes sense.

 

[CorvusFerreum]

Ahhh GFP. The one undeniable proof that scientists get to occasionally throw up their hands, yell "screw this", and do some science just for kicks.

I've lost count of how many things glow now.

Yeah, I love that wonderful, wonderful molecule. It makes me kinda sad that almost nobody tries to create even cuter fluorecent kittys by using a mix of the many different variants (Red, Yellow, diffenrent shades of green, different wavelenghts for excitation, etc.).

Well, you cant have everything.

Okay, trying to find a cure to HIV, even if it were just the feline equivalent, is a noble cause, but why did they need to make glowing kittens? It's like science is just trying to please the hordes of the internet, so they can get back to doing the same old boring sh*t.

GFP is often used as a marker gene. If you create transgene organisms often the genes you transfer are coupled with a gene with obvious effect (like GFP), so that it is possible to see wehter the transfer was succesful and the transfered Locus is expressed. In many cases transfered genes aren't easy to prove to be transfered, so this is a secure way.

Im not entirely sure wether it was used this way in this case (haven't read the original publication cause couldn't be arsed), there are other possible uses for GFP, but it makes sense to me.

Sorry for the horrible grammar and stuff, it's kinda late here. Good night.

 

[arcstone]

Can I say that it hits me as a little bit fascistic to say it's okay to experiment on one kind of animal but not on another just because it's prettier and cuter?

And since when has mice not been cute anyway?

 

[UNHchabo]

Cats can get HIV? Awww, thats really sad =(
Off-topic: Does it come in red? o_o

You misunderstand, the cats get an virus equivalent of HIV. Just like fish and a lot of other animals.

I read it correctly, but it mind as well be HIV.
If it effects kitties the same as HIV, but is not HIV simply because the kitties are not humans, or has some slight variation, then so what.
FIV, HIV, they're both Immunodeficiency Viruses.
I just wasn't aware that other animals could get it.

I have a cat with FIV; it does affect them in many of the same ways, but remember that HIV never kills anyone -- it just weakens their immune system so they end up dying of simple infections that most people fight off every day.

In the case of a house cat, their health can actually be unaffected even with FIV, because the main way they would pick up a new viral infection is through interactions with strange cats, or by being bitten by a flea or tick. All we really have to do is make sure that his flea and tick medication is up to date, and keep him inside, and he should live a normal, long, healthy life.

There is a vaccine, but it only covers some strains, and it makes the cat test positive for the rest of their life. So since our FIV-positive cat was rescued, technically there's no way we can tell whether he's actually FIV-positive, or if he was vaccinated sometime before being abandoned.

There's lots of misinformation about FIV out there though; the only place we can board our cats if we want to go on vacation is with our vet, because lots of animal boarders are under the mistaken impression that FIV is airborne, when the truth is that FIV is transmitted much like HIV, with the exception that if FIV-positive saliva enters the bloodstream of another cat (such as through a deep bite that punctures the skin), it can be transmitted that way.

Most animal shelters and pounds won't even bother trying to adopt out FIV-positive cats, because so few people are willing to adopt them. There are no-kill shelters out there though, and we got both of our cats from one.

 

[brainslurper]

Don't know why this is such a big deal, just open up a glow stick and feed it to your cat.

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

Normally I don't really like cats, but the thought of a necromancer-cat is... tempting, to say the least.

Although I could also go for "nuclear fallout cat mutant" just as well.

 

[ArcossG]

Am I the only one who thinks that this FIV virus sounds suspiciously like FEV

 

[Caverat]

Summary: oh here is a really strange and cute animal thing we've come up with. now lets kill it in the name of science.

really?

pardon me if i don't think the ends justify the means.

If they can learn to better treat human ailments by experimenting on animals, I am all for it. People are more important, and in the long run more lives will be saved than are lost during the experimentation. Animal experimentation has given us wonders like Insulin injections, and every vaccine in existence.

I'd also ask folk who think themselves a proponent of animal rights to consider the plight of the guinea worm. It is facing extinction at human hands, as humans are intentionally trying to wipe it out. In Guinea, the last one was seen in 2010. It has been encountered in the Sudan this year, so hope still exists for saving the species.

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/guineaworm/index.html

Cuz, you know, because it's alive means it deserves all the same rights as humans, just cuz, right?

OT: Anyway, OMFG GLOWWWIIINNNGGGGG KITTEHS! WANT MOAR!!!!!!!111111ONEone. This would corner the kitten market I'm sure, could probably charge a pretty, maybe even glowing, penny for them. Might even match my forecasted sales for the permakitten.

Permakitten- a cat that stays kitten sized for its life, my buddy discovered the formula accidentally. A kitten of his ate some random chemicals under the sink, nearly died, but didn't.... And stopped maturing physically.

Equals money in the bank.

 

[Galletea]

Well if it actually has some purpose, like curing HIV and AIDS then ok. Otherwise, go do something useful, I am not interested in your kitten illuminating ways science.