"Yeah right - and pigs might fly!"

Pickers · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:34

Scientists in Taiwan say they have bred three pigs that "glow in the dark".

They claim that while other researchers have bred partly fluorescent pigs, theirs are the only pigs in the world which are green through and through.

The pigs are transgenic, created by adding genetic material from jellyfish into a normal pig embryo.

Pheebs saw an article about this in March edition of Focus. It actually sounds like it has some very useful applications (cf. stem cell research). Lets just hope the 'lil porkers don't keep the rest of the sty up at night with their skin that wouldn't look out of place at a rave.

Melm0 · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:35

Wasn't this posted a while back?

Spacky · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:36

Night vision bacon goggles

HEADRAT · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:37

That will make this sausages easier to find in my fridge as the light is broken

HEADRAT

Greenlizard0 · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:38

Big deal - doesn't really mean anything at all. This kind of thing has to work all the time as it is often a portion of other experiemnts that are being done. If these other experiements are wholly successful....

Nobody has taken to prove it works on its own because nobody needs too.

philio16 · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:40

This was in the Metro a few weeks back!

Pickers · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:41

Melm0 said:
Wasn't this posted a while back?

I did do a search - appologies if it has been.
The only thread I can think of its a green puppy that was born naturally... Maybe you mean that one?

Le_Petit_Lapin · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:41

Whoah!! I want a Glowing green bacon buttie!!

Finally, science that has a purpose!

Psyk · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:42

Just imagine if they were genetically engineered to fly. It would be chaos! How many times have you said "Yeah I'll do it when pigs fly!". Everyone would be obliged to do things they never expected to do.

Vonhelmet · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:48

Old news. They make all sorts of things glow in the dark by adding the jellyfish gene to act as a marker gene.

Pickers · 14 Feb 2006 at 15:52

vonhelmet said:
Old news. They make all sorts of things glow in the dark by adding the jellyfish gene to act as a marker gene.

Yeah, but listen to the video - their hearts and stuff glow too! :eek:

You wouldn't know if your pigs liver had gone off, or was from a relative of these!

BBC Focus Magazine said:
The researchers say that although flourescent animals have been bred before, these are the only ones whose internal organs glow as well.