This one is for Spike, the world's oldest cat.
-- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://www.lrz.de/~ui22204/">leitl</a>
______________________________________________________________
ICBMTO : N48 10'07'' E011 33'53'' http://www.lrz.de/~ui22204
57F9CFD3: ED90 0433 EB74 E4A9 537F CFF5 86E7 629B 57F9 CFD3
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 11:38:26 -0700
From: DS2000 <ds2000@mediaone.net>
Reply-To: isml@yahoogroups.com
To: isml <isml@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [isml] LONG-LIFE GM CAT IS A WHISKER AWAY, SAY BOFFINS
>From The Daily Record,
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/shtml/NEWS/P22S1.shtml
-
Thursday, July 12, 2001
LONG-LIFE GM CAT IS A WHISKER AWAY, SAY BOFFINS
SCIENTISTS believe they are within two years of being able to genetically
engineer cats so they live longer.
At the same time, others are researching ways of modifying pets to make them
more disease-resistant and so they won't cause allergies in humans.
The Frankenstein-style science raises the prospect of GM hamsters, mice and
goldfish being available in pet shops.
But critics warn it is a step towards human cloning.
Research to produce the world's first GM cat that won't cause allergies is
being carried out by New York-based company, Transgenic Pets.
It says people shouldn't be surprised or repelled by the latest application
of biotechnology.
"People have been breeding qualities into animals for centuries," says the
firm's co-owner, David Anver. "We're just speeding up the process a little
bit."
Some similar projects could have medical and social benefits. One US
scientist wants to extend the life of working animals such as guide dogs to
double their life expectancy to 20.
A number of biotech companies in America are attempting to cash in on the
potentially lucrative market for cloning beloved pets.
Canine Cryobank already sells kits for freezing samples from a pet to keep
until cloning is possible, according to today's edition of New Scientist
magazine.
The technology would make it possible to clone pets such as Spike, the
world's oldest cat, which died this week aged 31 in Dorset.
Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,
said the consequences of made-to-order pets were horrifying.
"It brings us closer to human cloning and genetic modification," she said.
-- Dan S[ISML] Insane Science Mailing List
- To subscribe: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/isml
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:39:44 MDT