I'm not the only one ranting about glowing monkeys

A friend wonders if glowing monkeys fling glowing poo. Hmmm...

Does anyone other than me think this is just *wrong*???

Glowing Monkeys Make More Glowing Monkeys the Old-Fashioned Way

The first genetically modified primates that can pass their modifications to their offpsring have been created by Japanese scientists.

The marmosets...express a green fluorescent protein in their skin. The gene for producing the glow was delivered to the first marmoset embryos via a modified virus. But now that modification method could become unnecessary. One male marmoset, number 666, fathered a child...that also contained the transgenes.

666? Oh, the wingnuts will have fun with that! But seriously, I've been saying that transgenetics is a dangerous thing because of its capacity to reproduce in the wild. What happens when this happens outside of a lab? And these are primates, our cousins. What's next, making our kids glow green under UV light? How will they feel about it? Like a freak? And how will those who don't have the novelty of glowing green feel? Normal? or freaks? Argggh!

It looks like, from the pictures, that the child glows stronger than the parent. What also disturbs me is that glowing transgenetic animals aren't made that way just to prove our scientists can. They're made to study all sorts of human diseases. Although I do believe scientific work to cure disease is important, I have trouble with the idea of creating an entire line of designer animals just so you can experiment on it. Not to sound like a religious zealot, but I think there is a point where we have wonder if some people play God in the name of science (As I'm sure you realise from reading this blog, I'm a great advocate of science. But science can run amuck, as its study and manipulation is in the hands of humans, who are in essence imperfect. I give to you the atom bomb and its unforeseen effects.)

Does anyone besides me think this is a bad idea?

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you've probably figured out that I like science. Before I burned out on chemistry, I actually planned to be an oecologist when I first went to college. But transgenic animals (and plants, for that matter) really make me nervous. Can they really guarantee that these manipulated species do not get into the gene pool? I also found it interesting that two of the six puppies born died.

Harumpf.

Scientists claim to have cloned glowing dogs

What would Aristotle do?

The lines are blurring between animal, vegetable, and mineral with transgenic creations. Witness the latest, poplars with rabbit genes to help pull poisons for the environment. It's a good cause of course, and years from field testing, but what happens when these products make it out into the world? How will they affect wild and cultivated varieties? Do you really want to eat food that's been tinkered with?

Mutants or saviors? Rabbit genes create trees that eat poisons

And let's not forget spider goats and glowing bunnies (the latter of which died young and never really glowed with the colour or intensity of published photographs, which were enhanced by an artist--and only the body would have glowed, not the hair, which is dead tissue).

Thanks to YKWIA, who over the years has regaled me with stories of spider goats, glowing bunnies, and now bunny trees.