Genetically Engineered Pups Glow Red

Have you ever heard of a glowing red dog? No, well, you may be the first on the block to get one if you live anywhere near Seoul, South Korea.

There, it seems, scientists purport to have genetically engineered four beagle pups that glow red. They boast that their cloning techniques might be able to develop cures for diseases that affect humans who don’t know how to bark.

redbeagle1 Genetically Engineered Pups Glow Red picture

Ruppy is the name given to the world’s first transgenic female beagle dog carrying fluorescent genes that make the canine glow red. Demonstrating a non-creative flow of energy, all four of these amazing puppies are named Ruppy, which is a combination of the words, ruby and puppy.

These dogs look like any other beagles you might come across by light of day. After the sun goes down, however, it is a different story.

ruppy Genetically Engineered Pups Glow Red picture

These amazing puppies glow red under ultraviolet light and their nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the naked eye. Why anyone would want a red dog is a question no one wants to address (or at least so it seems), but Seoul National University professor Lee Byeong-chun, head of the research team, called these dogs carrying fluorescent genes an achievement that goes beyond just the glowing novelty.

The team of scientists identified the dogs as clones of a cell donor through DNA tests and recorded their experiments on the website of the journal, Genesis. Fluorescent mice and pigs have been cloned before in Europe, Japan and the United States, but this marks the first time dogs with modified genes have been cloned successfully.

“What’s significant in this work are not the dogs expressing red colors but that we planted genes into them. The glowing dogs show it is possible to successfully insert genes with a specific trait, which could lead to implanting other, non-fluorescent genes that could help treat specific diseases, like Parkinson’s,” said Professor Lee.

(link)

By MDeeDubroff on 16-05-2009