Post by Lady Winter Wolf on Dec 13, 2007 23:52:06 GMT -5
Scientists clone glow-in-the-dark cats
Posted Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:24am AEDT
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/13/2117451.htm
Officials in South Korea say scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases.
In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet beams.
The Ministry of Science and Technology says a team of scientists, led by Kong Il-keun, a cloning expert at Gyeongsang National University, produced three cats possessing altered fluorescence protein (RFP) genes.
"It marked the first time in the world that cats with RFP genes have been cloned," the ministry said in a statement.
"The ability to produce cloned cats with the manipulated genes is significant as it could be used for developing treatments for genetic diseases and for reproducing model (cloned) animals suffering from the same diseases as humans."
The cats were born in January and February. One was stillborn while two others grew to become adult Turkish Angoras, weighing 3.0 kilograms and 3.5 kilograms.
"This technology can be applied to clone animals suffering from the same diseases as humans," the leading scientist, Dr Kong, said.
"It will also help develop stemcell treatments," he said, noting that cats have some 250 kinds of genetic diseases that affect humans, too.
Dr Kong says the technology can also help clone endangered animals like tigers, leopards and wildcats.
Posted Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:24am AEDT
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/13/2117451.htm
Officials in South Korea say scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases.
In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet beams.
The Ministry of Science and Technology says a team of scientists, led by Kong Il-keun, a cloning expert at Gyeongsang National University, produced three cats possessing altered fluorescence protein (RFP) genes.
"It marked the first time in the world that cats with RFP genes have been cloned," the ministry said in a statement.
"The ability to produce cloned cats with the manipulated genes is significant as it could be used for developing treatments for genetic diseases and for reproducing model (cloned) animals suffering from the same diseases as humans."
The cats were born in January and February. One was stillborn while two others grew to become adult Turkish Angoras, weighing 3.0 kilograms and 3.5 kilograms.
"This technology can be applied to clone animals suffering from the same diseases as humans," the leading scientist, Dr Kong, said.
"It will also help develop stemcell treatments," he said, noting that cats have some 250 kinds of genetic diseases that affect humans, too.
Dr Kong says the technology can also help clone endangered animals like tigers, leopards and wildcats.
