View Full Version : Glow in the Dark Pigs!
And no, they AREN'T radioactive!
Scientists in Taiwan say they have bred three pigs that glow in the dark. They claim that while other researchers have bred partly fluorescent pigs, theirs are the only pigs in the world which are green through and through.
The pigs are transgenic, created by adding genetic material from jellyfish into a normal pig embryo.
The researchers hope the pigs will boost the island's stem cell research, as well as helping with the study of human disease.
The researchers, from National Taiwan University's Department of Animal Science and Technology, say that although the pigs glow, they are otherwise no different from any others.
Taiwan is not claiming a world first. Others have bred partially fluorescent pigs before. But the researchers insist the three pigs they have produced are better.
They are the only ones that are green from the inside out. Even their heart and internal organs are green, they say.
To create them, DNA from jellyfish was added to about 265 pig embryos which were implanted in eight different pigs.
Four of the pigs became pregnant and three male piglets were born three months ago.
Green generation
In daylight the researchers say the pigs' eyes, teeth and trotters look green. Their skin has a greenish tinge.
In the dark, shine a blue light on them and they glow torch-light bright.
The scientists will use the transgenic pigs to study human disease. Because the pig's genetic material is green, it is easy to spot.
So if, for instance, some of its stem cells are injected into another animal, scientists can track how they develop without the need for a biopsy or invasive test.
But creating them has not been easy. Many of the altered embryos failed to develop.
The researchers say they hope the new, green pigs will mate with ordinary female pigs to create a new generation - much greater numbers of transgenic pigs for use in research.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41208000/jpg/_41208332_glow203.jpg
This is useful, how?
Oh yeah I suppose I won't trip over it when I go downstairs for a glass of milk at 4 in the morning eh?
Tharrick
13-01-2006, 13:23
This is useful, how?
Oh yeah I suppose I won't trip over it when I go downstairs for a glass of milk at 4 in the morning eh?
No, it's just proving that we can quite happily splice genes from critters into other critters. It can also be used, as it says in the article, to show spread of stem cells when xenotransplanted.
It will also pave the way for a self-renewing bioluminescent tattoo! Imagine a tattoo that glows, and that never fades! How awesome would THAT be? :P
And ironically, I was studying bioluminescence this morning...:D
TriggerHappi:D
13-01-2006, 14:20
Glow in the dark piggies? [Sigh] Once again, mankind's intelligence is wasted on something like shining piggies when it could be used on shining moosies...
...
I just thought of something...What if they do that same thing to like a lady (just go with me here) and then she gets all pregnant, and then her stomach glows?! She could have like, the "Incredible Hulk Baby in the Womb!!!" And then she could walk down the street and people could get really scared of her!:D
Eesh, I'm not very articulate first thing in the morning. XD
Yeah it seems pretty useless and everything, but like.... that sounds pretty cool xD. And well it makes life easier cause as you know we humans are getting lazier all the time - now they don't have to run tests or anything. (like there's even a remote for the Xbox 360 which lets you turn it on and off (obv. there's other things too you can do with it) so you don't have to walk over and press the on/off button xD). Imagine if they did that on humans..... man that'd be pretty damn freaky.
Tharrick
13-01-2006, 20:09
Yeah it seems pretty useless and everything
Because you know nothing about biology, clearly.
Whereas I, who is doing the biology degree, can see many many uses of this. Hell, I even stated one earlier.
It can also be used, as it says in the article, to show spread of stem cells when xenotransplanted.
How Random!
Doing AS level biology, I can see where they're coming from, and it seems like a good idea to me... Although, why use pigs?!
Yeah, glow-in-the-dark pigs might be a talking point ("Oh yeah, by the way, have you seen my luminous green pigs?"), But how are they going to find the cells one they're INSIDE someone? Surely they still have to cut the person open and go "That's green, that's normal colour"... Unless they use some kind of ultra sound or something, ideas anyone? (I've only just finished module 1, so have no idea!)
Wait, you guys are saying intelligence has been WASTED?!
You guys scare me, COME ON. GLOW IN THE DARK PIGS! You call that a WASTE!?!?!? I SAY BRING ON THE BRIGHT GREEN HAMBURGERS!
They use pigs 'cause they're very similar to humans - I think.
And Sprog, module 1 biology was nothing about this kinda stuff. and its not JUST biology, physics would be involved aswell to determine where the cells are, and chemistry to get the so on and so on blah blah *sleeps*
Tharrick
14-01-2006, 04:36
Although, why use pigs
Because they breed quickly, but they're large enough that you can do an experiment like this and properly determine the effect on a complete large organism
physics would be involved aswell to determine where the cells are, and chemistry to get the so on and so on blah blah
Nope, you can quite happily determine where a cell is simply by cutting it open, which is the point of having a bioluminescent cell - you inject your recipient with stem cells from the green pig, then you wait,then kill and cut open your recipient, and you can see from the green cells which ones are originally from the pig or have developed from the ones from the pig. No physics or chemistry required at all.
TriggerHappi:D
14-01-2006, 05:06
You mean, you can tell the green ones apart from the regular ones with the naked eye? :confused:
or shine a blue light on them in the dark and they glow green ^_^
Tharrick
14-01-2006, 14:02
You mean, you can tell the green ones apart from the regular ones with the naked eye?
In daylight the researchers say the pigs' eyes, teeth and trotters look green. Their skin has a greenish tinge.
In the dark, shine a blue light on them and they glow torch-light bright.
That picture just looks like it has been taken in night vision or green hue, not too glow-in-the-darky. But still, I see that tax payers money is going to right places huh? I mean, who needs houses and public services when you can have glow in the dark pigs?
Just another reason why I am glad to not live anywhere else than England.
Tharrick
17-01-2006, 20:18
Oh yeah, scientific developments on gene splicing that both enable us to perfect that art, and also allow greater development of OTHER medical, beneficial, practices - sure thing, waste of money.
Hell, by that reasoning, why bother with medicine? Get sick, die where you fall.
TriggerHappi:D
17-01-2006, 23:42
You mean, you can tell the green ones apart from the regular ones with the naked eye?
By that, I meant the cells in the pigs, but that's probably a really stupid question...XD
well trigger find the glow in the dark pigs then find a regular one and cut em open and find out yer self. XD
hmm glow in the dark medcine so when the lights and the sun go out you use glow in the dark sedadeitvies to put you to sleep while the earth freezes over. yay!
yeah its not a waste the reasearch is also helpful to create a genetic smart creatures to go and fight wars instead of people. also lets see cure big diseases like cancer and all that stuff. maybe even to repair the hole in the ozone whcich is still possible but we cant live three days with out cars or electronics. so its not useless its not like glow in the dark potatoes or trigger clones( must use trigger clones in comedy horror short story for language class). but we could also use the research to destroy each other quicker.which is probably going to happen thanks to the power hungry countries that still belive in impearlism.
Tharrick
18-01-2006, 11:29
By that, I meant the cells in the pigs, but that's probably a really stupid question...XD
The cells ALSO bioluminesce - that's the POINT of 'em :P
maybe even to repair the hole in the ozone
Genetic engineering isn't going to do that. Right now we're working with genes that already exist, such as a jellyfish's bioluminescence, and we can't just e.g. make up a gene that allows a critter to breathe ozone.
yeah its not a waste the reasearch is also helpful to create a genetic smart creatures to go and fight wars instead of people
I won't even BEGIN to go into the moral side of THAT
when the lights and the sun go out
When the sun goes out, it will have already increased a size so much larger than its current size - big enough to reach ALL the way out to Earth already. We'll have been swallowed up long before the sun goes out.
Dale Anthony
18-01-2006, 15:53
When the sun goes out, it will have already increased a size so much larger than its current size - big enough to reach ALL the way out to Earth already. We'll have been swallowed up long before the sun goes out.
Oh thanks Tharrick. I'll sleep much better Tonight, knowing the Earth is gonna melt.
Tharrick
18-01-2006, 16:39
Don't worry about it, we still have something stupid like a hundred billion years to go. Also, the human race will most likely have spread out or become extinct by then anyway
Starfire
19-01-2006, 19:46
O_o
Very odd.
That's going to make for some interesting bacon lol
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