Associated Press | December 14, 2007
RIGHT: The
photo to the right was taken
through a special filter
in a dark room shows a
cat, left, possessing a
red fluorescent protein
that makes the animal
glow in the dark when
exposed to ultraviolet
rays. It appears next to
a normal cloned cat.
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays, an achievement that could help develop cures for human genetic diseases, the Science and Technology Ministry said.
Three Turkish Angora cats were born in January and February through cloning with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow in dark. One died at birth, but the two others survived, the ministry said.
The ministry claimed it was the first time cats with modified genes have been cloned.
Scientists from Gyeongsang National University and Sunchon National University took skin cells from a cat and inserted the fluorescent gene into them before transplanting the genetically modified cells into eggs.
The development means other genes can also be inserted in the course of cloning, paving the way for producing lab cats with genetic diseases, including those of humans, to help develop new treatments, the ministry said.
"Cats have similar genes to those of humans," said veterinary professor Kong Il-keun of Gyeongsang National University. "We can make genetically modified cats that can be used to develop new cures for genetic diseases."
Keitaro Kato, a geneticist at Kinki University in western Japan who has cloned fish, said the research could be significant if it eventually helps treat people with hereditary diseases.
"People with genetic disorders usually have to receive treatment throughout their lives that is very hard on them," Kato said. "If these results can help to make their lives easier, then I think it's a wonderful thing."
South Korea's scientific reputation suffered a heavy blow after much-hailed stem-cell breakthroughs by scientist Hwang Woo-suk were found to be faked in late 2005. He remains on trial on fraud and other charges.
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This handout photo released in Seoul by the Ministry of Science and Technology shows a combo of cloned cats that have a fluorescence protein gene and glowing under ultraviolet beams. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) |
Mad scientists are playing God!
A genetics nightmare is coming!
Glow-in-the-dark humans are just around the corner...
Human Mice?
A genetically grown mouse with an Human Ear. This is getting freaky folks!
The Word of God tells us that God created life to reproduce "after his kind," i.e., within its own species. God never intended for mad scientists to generate chimeras (i.e., half animal/half human mutant creatures) in labs. Where will this tampering with life lead? What will be the moral repercussions? Life today has been reduced to nothing―to the point where a growing child in a mother's womb has no right to life.
All life comes from God, and should be respected as such. Although the idea of growing human organs in animals is challenging and revolutionary, it also violates the most basic LAWS OF NATURE which God incorporated into the universe. To what degree does the end justify the means? This is an important question. If mankind has a right to produce chimeras, then to what degree does he have a right to go... 25% human? ... 50% human ... 75% human? Man's unquenchable thirst for madness will be his eventual doom. END
