Glow-in-the-dark cat!

[Rakuen Growlithe]

Yay! Genetics has done it. They've made a cat which glows in the dark under the correct lighting.

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/pet ... genes.html

[Valerion]

I seem to remember reading about this either the beginning of the year or last year sometime. But still very cool, as long as there's no danger to the animal involved. Could make for a cool party trick Especially with florescent lights.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

I guess I missed it. But if he's 6 months old then that would fit your time frame slightly. And he should be fine.

[Valerion]

Aha! Found one article about it, though I remember quite a few at the time. Most links seem to be dead now, though.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/ ... 14602.aspx

Not sure if it's the same as yours, though, though it seems to have been done Jan/Feb last year. Guess I will have to compare the relevant research papers one day if I can find them. And have the energy and willpower to do it

[Rakuen Growlithe]

They're different cats. Although it says there are also glowing pigs and mice that have been made. If you wanted to know if they were same just look at the pics, one cat is green and the others are red.

[Valerion]

Oh, I know they're not the same cats, the countries are different. But I wonder if the same techniques were used, or different ones? Would be interesting to find out.

[vopisca]

I find it fascinating.
Site about Alba, the bunny.
Article about the piggies.
And not that I am suggesting wikipedia is ever a good idea, this is some fairly legitimate information about GFP and where it comes from.
^_^ Enjoy!

[vopisca]

As far as the red glowing kitties go, from what I have found, albeit I am not sure how credible these sources are, those red kitties are clones. From what I understand, the cats genetic makeup means they glow red in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet light. And it got that way because South Korean researchers at Gyeongsang National University reportedly modified the skin cells of the mother cat, a Turkish Angora, by using a virus to make the protein fluoresce.

Cloned glowing red kitties. Neat.

[Rakuen Growlithe]

Wow. Nice piccies. Thank you. We never get to do anything cool like that in practicals

[DesertYote]

O.O that's some crazy shit right there...I'll take three.

'Yote

[vopisca]

I always end up being the team lead in my practicals, and I -wish- I was at Penn University or one of the places researching it! That would be so awesome.

So far there are two types, the green animals have jelly fish flourescent protein in their skin and the red ones are red cause of a virus in the epidermis of the mother cat. o_o
Good gods this is cool.

[DesertYote]

Cool, yes. Novelty, yes. Practical? Honestly, I see no use for it. I mean, sure...it would be "neat" to have such an animal with a unique characteristic like that...but why bother?

'Yote

[Rakuen Growlithe]

It doesn't need a reason. Anyway if you want one it's good practice for geneticists :p I'm sure people could think of all sorts of uses for them though. When the laser was developed no one had any use for it. Now it's used in cd players, surgery, manufacturing, military, pointing etc.

[vopisca]

Copy Pasta from the Wiki:
"The availability of GFP and its derivatives has thoroughly redefined fluorescence microscopy and the way it is used in cell biology and other biological disciplines.[19] While most small fluorescent molecules such as FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate) are strongly phototoxic when used in live cells, fluorescent proteins such as GFP are usually much less harmful when illuminated in living cells. This has triggered the development of highly automated live cell fluorescence microscopy systems which can be used to observe cells over time expressing one or more proteins tagged with fluorescent proteins. For example, GFP had been widely used in labelling the spermatozoa of various organisms for identification purposes as in Drosophila melanogaster, where expression of GFP can be used as a marker for a particular characteristic. GFP can also be expressed in different structures enabling morphological distinction. In such cases, the gene for the production of GFP is spliced into the genome of the organism in the region of the DNA which codes for the target proteins, and which is controlled by the same regulatory sequence; that is the gene's regulatory sequence now controls the production of GFP, in addition to the tagged protein(s). In cells where the gene is expressed, and the tagged proteins are produced, GFP is produced at the same time. Thus, only those cells in which the tagged gene is expressed, or the target proteins are produced, will fluoresce when observed under fluorescence microscopy. Analysis of such time lapse movies has redefined the understanding of many biological processes including protein folding, protein transport, and RNA dynamics, which in the past had been studied using fixed (i.e. dead) material. .

Another powerful use of GFP is to express the protein in small sets of specific cells. This allows researchers to optically detect specific types of cells in vitro (in a dish), or even in vivo (in the living organism).[20] Genetically combining several spectral variants of GFP is a useful trick for the analysis of brain circuitry (Brainbow)."

[DesertYote]

XP Perhaps I'll change my opinion when I see MARKETABLE results.

'Yote

[Valerion]

Marketable results? With modern youth buying anything new, a glow-in-the-dark pet is marketable, for sure

[Rakuen Growlithe]

They're already cloning people's pets for a price. Why not add some mods while you're at it. Pimp My Pet is going to be the next biggest thing in TV.

I've pimped my cat with blue glow in the dark paws and it's completely allergy free. It's also got a longer lifespan and the tip of it's tail produces high quality silk for those into sewing.

[vopisca]

Mmm.. kitty silk.

[DesertYote]

Lawl. Let me hear Billy May's pitching it on TV, and you've got yourself a deal!

'Yote

[vopisca]

WHO WANTS ANYONE ELSES CATS?!
WHY ADOPT WHEN YOU CAN ENGINEER!
WE GOT NEON PUSSIES, HAIRLESS GREEN PUSSIES, RED KITTENS, ANYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE! DREAM BIG PEOPLE! THESE KITTIES DON'T GROW ON TREES--ONLY IN DISHES! WHEN WE WANT THEM TO!
...
*dies laughing*

[Rakuen Growlithe]

WE GOT NEON PUSSIES, HAIRLESS GREEN PUSSIES

I think you should redo these lines :p They give a bad mental image.

[DesertYote]

WHO WANTS ANYONE ELSES CATS?!
WHY ADOPT WHEN YOU CAN ENGINEER!
WE GOT NEON PUSSIES, HAIRLESS GREEN PUSSIES, RED KITTENS, ANYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE! DREAM BIG PEOPLE! THESE KITTIES DON'T GROW ON TREES--ONLY IN DISHES! WHEN WE WANT THEM TO!
...
*dies laughing*

If I ACT NOW can I get THREE FOR THE PRICE OF ONE?! If so, where do I sign up?

'Yote

[vopisca]

If you have ever watched the Billy May infomercials where he's yammering on like a loon about the "Slap Chop" and how much you are going to love "his nuts" you would understand I did that on purpose. ^_^

[DesertYote]

If you have ever watched the Billy May infomercials where he's yammering on like a loon about the "Slap Chop" and how much you are going to love "his nuts" you would understand I did that on purpose. ^_^

YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT. >.< The guy in the ShamWOW and Slap Chop commercials is NOT Billy Mays. That's Vince...whatever his last name is, and he's an asshole. He's also the same guy who brought out the "Girls Gone Wild" videos. Billy Mays is the guy who did Mighty Putty, Oxy-Clean, and so on.

'Yote

[vopisca]

Dammit you're right!!! Crap. ><;

[DesertYote]

It'll be ok. Just remember to say an extra "Hail Billy" tonight and buy more shoe inserts.

'Yote