I want one! (Or Scientists make glow in the dark Kittens)

[Abaddon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14882008

Glowing cats shed light on Aids

Cats that have been genetically modified to glow in the dark are being used to gain insights into Aids.

The scientists inserted one gene into the cats that helps them resist the feline form of Aids.

They also inserted a gene that produces a fluorescent protein called GFP, Nature Methods journal reports.

This protein - which is produced naturally in jellyfish - is commonly used in this area of research to monitor the activity of altered genes.

"We did it to mark cells easily just by looking under the microscope or shining a light on the animal," said Dr Eric Poeschla, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, US.

The antiviral gene comes from a rhesus macaque, and produces a protein called a restriction factor that can resist Aids-causing viruses affecting other animals.

The team from the US and Japan then transferred this gene, along with the one for GFP, into feline eggs - known as oocytes.

The method worked so well that nearly all offspring from the modified eggs had the restriction factor genes. And these proteins were made throughout the cats' bodies.

The researchers found that there was reduced replication of the feline Aids virus - known as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) - in these cats.

Just as the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, does in people, FIV works by wiping out infection-fighting T-cells.

FIV infects mostly feral cats, of which there are half a billion in the world, Dr Poeschla said. It is transmitted by biting, largely by males defending their territory, but companion cats are affected as well.

In both humans and cats, proteins called restriction factors that normally fight off viral infections are defenseless against HIV and FIV because the viruses have evolved potent counter-weapons.

But certain monkey versions of these restriction factors are capable of fighting the viruses.

So far, Dr Poeschla's team has only tested cells taken from the animals and found they were resistant to FIV. But eventually they plan to expose the cats to the virus and see if they are protected.

"If you could show that you confer protection to these animals, it would give us a lot of information about protecting humans," the Mayo Clinic researcher explained.

 

[ori]

old news

(not the aids thing, just the xFP (glowing) transgenic cat...

Personally I like the RFP cats better:

 

[Abaddon]

It its old news, why can't I buy one?

 

[Perfection]

It its old news, why can't I buy one?

Blew all your money on tats?

 

[Abaddon]

That's old new also!

Semi-seriously. Surely there would be tons of people wanting these as pets, why not fund science this way?

 

[Boundless]

I would buy two. And call one glow, and one stick.

 

[GoodGame]

Just type GFP (Green Flourescent Protein) Animals in Google Images:

http://www.google.com/search?q=gfp+...&ei=LhNxTsmFI5TrgQfGhZCNBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CCIQsAQ

The original jellyfish that the GFP was isolated from way back when:

http://news.preview.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/photogalleries/glowing-animal-pictures/

 

[Abaddon]

I'm quite aware of it. I wanted Zebra Fish also..

 

[Omni314]

Whilst this would be good, the novelty would wear off in about a day.
My cat annoys me enough when I'm trying to sleep mainly by clawing at me and meowing, I don't want it able to shine a light at me aswel.

 

[Polycrates]

I'm quite aware of it. I wanted Zebra Fish also..

Perhaps this would do the trick?

Whilst this would be good, the novelty would wear off in about a day.
My cat annoys me enough when I'm trying to sleep mainly by clawing at me and meowing, I don't want it able to shine a light at me aswel.

But yeah, making stuff glow green is a pretty easy trick, albeit one that is incredibly cool. I saw recently that somebody made some animal that only starts glowing under certain circumstances, presumably by sticking it on a promoter that's more specific for that event (I can't remember the specifics, but it was something like only when they were eating certain food). I'm sure you could make a cat whose greenness was triggered by whether or not you were feeding it a fluoro-enabling tablet or whatever. Or you could link the gfp to a cre-lox system and let your kids paint their own green pattern on kitty with a paintbrush dipped in hydroxytamoxifen. Fun with science!

 

[jtb1127]

I posted this on the first thread: I want my Chihuahua to be glow in the dark too.

 

[G-Max]

How soon can we make glow-in-the-dark humans?

 

[uppi]

How soon can we make glow-in-the-dark humans?

I don't think there is any reason we couldn't. There are just severe ethic (and in most places probably also legal) concerns about this.

 

[GoodGame]

That would make a great bioweapon! Make your enemies glow-in-dark!