Another biotech miracle, or freak of nature:
GloPigs!
Well, actually they aren't called that. BUT, these little piggies DO glow green when hit with a blacklight. In fact, when these green porkers first came out in 2006, it was a HUGE deal in the scientific community too! Here's why:
A glopig is actually a
transgenic animal. -An animal that has had its genes altered. In other words, Taiwanese scientists placed a jellyfish gene into their pigs' DNA to make it
glow. Now, before you guys freak out on me, do understand that we've been messing with genes for YEARS! DECADES! CENTURIES! I mean, do you think that something like this sharpei is normal?!
Before the advent of gene splicing, humans have been altering genes through a process called artificial selection. This is how we've made such foods like corn and tomatoes, and animals like cows, chickens and chihuahuas. Cows and chickens were "domesticated," meaning that before gene technology, we picked the dumbest, meatiest, tastiest animals we could find to breed. Corn is an actual genetic derivative of
maize, a naturally occurring plant similar to wheat...a weed!
Current biotech, and transgenic organisms are just a better, more efficient, sexier way of swapping genes than artificial selection. We still get what we want without the nasty side effects (think about that little doggie up there). Besides, it'd be damned near impossible to breed a pig with a jellyfish... Even Barry White can't help us with that one!
Anyhoo, going back to glopigs... The idea of putting a glowing gene into an animal's DNA has been around for quite a while to study and understand gene expression. Thinking back to basic bio, remember that not all of our genes are tur
ned on at the same time. By putting a glowing gene into specific places in our DNA, you can figure out what genes are turned "on" (when it glows) and what's turned "off."
Case in point, look at these mice. The jellyfish gene, which codes for the
Green Fluorescent Protein, or GFP, only glows in their ears, tail and feet. What this means is that the particular gene that these scientists are studying is ONLY turned on in these areas.
By knowing where genes are expressed, and HOW they get expressed, we can find better ways to control certain genetic defects or disorders. Conversely, if we can find genes that are expressed everywhere and every time, we may be able to find gene therapies for the entire animal. Remember "
gene therapy?" It was a huge thing in the 80's and 90's.
Dr. Wu Shinn-Chih's glopigs are a hit because he was the first one to express GFP in the entire organism! The FIRST!!! The ENTIRE organism! Meaning, green skin, green eyes, green liver, green tongue, green BACON. Green everything! Now THAT is pretty damn cool.
Once we get chickens involved, we've got Dr. Suess's book allllll taken care of!
Green Eggs and Ham anyone?
ed animal is the nude mouse. Bred since 1937 (before GMO technology), this mouse has no immune system. Because of that, nude mice have helped studies such as leukemia, cancer, organ transplantation and many, many others. From the picture, you can probably surmise why the nude mouse got it's name.
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