Showing posts with label Glowing Monkeys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glowing Monkeys. Show all posts

Saturday, May 30, 2009

News Flash: Monkeys That Bone Like Rabbits Now Glow Like Rabbits.

Pretty cute, except under UV light.

Congratulations to marmosets, the latest species to join mice, rabbits, cats and pigs in the glowing animal clan. These animals all have a protein (GFP, first found in bioluminescent jellyfish) attached to most every other protein in their body, which gives them an eerie neon-green glow under UV light. The green glow helps scientists visualize how complex biological systems work in live animals. Now scientists are one step closer to doing just that in higher primates. Pretty cool if you're interested in llearning about human diseases in nonhuman animals, but some people are worried. Every popular media article I've read on the monkeys features the ethical issue of experimenting with the genetics of our close ancestors. So, what do you think? Is altering inherited DNA in monkeys a step too far towards genetically engineering humans?