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| Thread ID: 120522 | 2011-09-12 18:42:00 | Glow-In-The-Dark Cats | SurferJoe46 (51) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1230565 | 2011-09-12 18:42:00 | Glow-in-the-dark cats could shed light on AIDS research 3118 There are two AIDS pandemics in the world: one in humans and the other in cats. In their quest for ways to combat AIDS in humans, scientists have been studying feline immunodificiency virus (FIV) for insight into the human virus. Afflicting mostly feral cats and big cats such as lions, FIV causes AIDS in cats the same way HIV causes AIDS in people — by causing the loss of infection-fighting T cells. Now, a group of researchers mostly from the Mayo Clinic report in the journal Nature Methods that they have genetically engineered three cats so they potentially have resistance to AIDS — and so they glow in the dark. Live Science reports, The amount of genetic material they implanted within the cats was tiny — if the entire string of DNA that is the cat genome were unraveled and depicted as a highway reaching across the United States from New York to Los Angeles, the inserted material would be equal in length to one of the dashed yellow lines in the middle of the highway somewhere out in Nebraska, [Eric Poeschla, a molecular biologist and infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine] said. The reason the cats now glow in the dark is because they were given the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, which originates from jellyfish and has been used in a number of science experiments to make animals, including mice, fruit flies, rabbits and pigs, glow in the dark. Seeing the cats glow in the dark helps the researchers know that the genetic engineering was successful. Read more: www.smartplanet.com Makes it kinda unsporting to be able to find the cat now - wot? |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 1230566 | 2011-09-12 21:03:00 | We were just talking about that when out walking last night. They better get it right for humans, other wise people will think we are being invaded by little green mean from mars --- That or some druggies will really think they have the "good stuff" :lol: |
wainuitech (129) | ||
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