The real Cheshire Cat.
Posted on 12/12/2007 6:09:16 AM PST by Red Badger
South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases, officials said Wednesday.
In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet beams.
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.
"It marked the first time in the world that cats with RFP genes have been cloned," the ministry said in a statement.
"The ability to produce cloned cats with the manipulated genes is significant as it could be used for developing treatments for genetic diseases and for reproducing model (cloned) animals suffering from the same diseases as humans," it added.
The cats were born in January and February. One was stillborn while two others grew to become adult Turkish Angoras, weighing 3.0 kilogrammes (6.6 pounds) and 3.5 kilogrammes.
"This technology can be applied to clone animals suffering from the same diseases as humans," the leading scientist, Kong, told AFP.
"It will also help develop stemcell treatments," he said, noting that cats have some 250 kinds of genetic diseases that affect humans, too.
The technology can also help clone endangered animals like tigers, leopards and wildcats, Kong said.
South Korea's bio-engineering industry suffered a setback after a much-touted achievement by cloning expert Hwang Woo-Suk turned out to have been faked.
The government banned Hwang from research using human eggs after his claims that he created the first human stem cells through cloning were ruled last year to be bogus.
Hwang is standing trial on charges of fraud and embezzlement.
Stephen King, please pick up the white courtesy phone...
After dealing with my girlfriend’s cat last night, I’d be happy if he glowed in the dark. It would make him easier to spot.
The real Cheshire Cat.
I wonder if this is the Korean equivalent of a candlelight dinner?................
“I wonder if this is the Korean equivalent of a candlelight dinner?................”
Now THAT is funny!
Does the energy emitted from the cat cause global warming? Does S. Korea need to pay the UN?
On the advent of the Year of the Rat, mice everywhere rejoice.
Belling the cat officially obsolete.
Oh goody! This will, hopefully, provide more fodder for future LOLCats. We can never have enough LOLCats.
I am looking forward to a whole new line of night time LOLz.
Easier to see dinner?
That would be great - we have automatic nightlights all over the house because our black cats have a habit of just sleeping any ol’ place.
Must....control...self...and....not....say....it.....
I like this idea. When the global warming predictions don't come true we can charge the scammers for scientific fraud and for starters $100 billion worth of embezzlement.
ping
There’ll be a huge market for these cats. Imagine being the first on your block to have a glow-in-the-dark cat. This is really neat.
Don't say it..........
Scorpions naturally glow under black light. They evolved when Earth did not have much of an ozone layer and this property somehow helps them to deal with high levels of cosmic radiation. Scorpions also can take high levels of nuclear radiation.
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