A bright idea! Genetically engineered plant glows so brightly it can be used as a LAMP

Many people set the mood for a romantic night in with candles, but now they could use a genetically engineered glowing plant for a date with a difference.

A light-producing plant called Starlight Avatar that glows like a firefly has been created by U.S. scientists.

Bioengineers spliced genes from bioluminescent bacteria with a pot plant to create the plant, which can be used as a lamp in the dark.

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Scientists create glow-in-the-dark pigs with jellyfish DNA

Chinese scientists have unveiled a litter of glow-in-the-dark piglets.

The team from South China Agricultural University were able to create 10 pigs that turn green under black fluorescent lights, thanks to a technique developed by the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Medicine.

The method sees animal embryos injected with DNA from a jellyfish and was used to create the world’s first glow-in-the-dark rabbits in Turkey earlier this year.

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I saw a glowing pig in The Amityville Horror.

I often wondered what the purpose of creating glow in the dark this or that was but now I believe it is some sort of proof of concept to see if they can get genetic material from one thing to another and have it work as intended. The glow is just the proof positive of success. However, once you’ve done it, why do you then need to make further things that glow? Are they just showing off? Playing one-up-man-ship? You’ve got a glowing rabbit? Well I have a glowing pig?

furious said:

I often wondered what the purpose of creating glow in the dark this or that was but now I believe it is some sort of proof of concept to see if they can get genetic material from one thing to another and have it work as intended. The glow is just the proof positive of success. However, once you’ve done it, why do you then need to make further things that glow? Are they just showing off? Playing one-up-man-ship? You’ve got a glowing rabbit? Well I have a glowing pig?

there was a glowing beagle about a year back

furious said:

I often wondered what the purpose of creating glow in the dark this or that was but now I believe it is some sort of proof of concept to see if they can get genetic material from one thing to another and have it work as intended. The glow is just the proof positive of success. However, once you’ve done it, why do you then need to make further things that glow? Are they just showing off? Playing one-up-man-ship? You’ve got a glowing rabbit? Well I have a glowing pig?

they are doing it for a reason…

from the link

But all the fluorescent fauna isn’t just for fun. The goal is to introduce beneficial genes into larger animals to create less costly and more efficient medicines.

“We can make those enzymes a lot cheaper in animals rather than a factory that will cost millions of dollars to build,” Dr Stefan Moisyadi of the University of Hawaii explained.

• they are doing it for a reason…

Yeah, I know, I said that…

furious said:

I often wondered what the purpose of creating glow in the dark this or that was but now I believe it is some sort of proof of concept to see if they can get genetic material from one thing to another and have it work as intended. The glow is just the proof positive of success. However, once you’ve done it, why do you then need to make further things that glow? Are they just showing off? Playing one-up-man-ship? You’ve got a glowing rabbit? Well I have a glowing pig?

No they, aren’t just showing off. The glow in the dark thing may seem frivolous, but it’s actually very practical.

Adding genes to a DNA sequence is a bit of a hit or miss affair: you basically blast the DNA sequence into the fertilised egg nucleus and hope that it takes. Generally, the effects of such sequences aren’t apparent until the organism is developed. Eg, let’s say you want to add a DNA sequence to a pig that increases the adult size of the pig. You won’t know if you’ve succeeded until the pig is fully grown.

But if you tag your growth gene with a glow-in-the-dark gene, then you can tell that you’ve achieved success almost straight away by exposing (some of) the embryonic tissue to UV.

• it is some sort of proof of concept to see if they can get genetic material from one thing to another and have it work as intended. The glow is just the proof positive of success.

I often wonder if people actually read my posts…

furious said:

• it is some sort of proof of concept to see if they can get genetic material from one thing to another and have it work as intended. The glow is just the proof positive of success.

I often wonder if people actually read my posts…

But it’s not just a simple proof of concept: if it were, they’d only put the glow in the dark sequence in on the first run. But they (generally) need to check that they’ve been successful with every organism they modify, due to the random nature of the DNA “injection” process.

PM 2Ring said:

furious said:

• it is some sort of proof of concept to see if they can get genetic material from one thing to another and have it work as intended. The glow is just the proof positive of success.

I often wonder if people actually read my posts…

But it’s not just a simple proof of concept: if it were, they’d only put the glow in the dark sequence in on the first run. But they (generally) need to check that they’ve been successful with every organism they modify, due to the random nature of the DNA “injection” process.

I saw the gloworms in the Waitomo caves yesterday, very cool.

how’s gloworm going, anyone know?