Glow-in-the-dark pigs and banana vaccines: Has human curiosity taken a step too far?

By Tilda Hardman Year 10 When a proposal is obviously absurd and never going to work, we often say ‘pigs might fly’ . But what about ‘pigs might glow’? It’s not as absurd as you think. In fact, it’s happening right now and it is just one of the by-products of amazing developments in genetic engineering. The idea of glowing pigs might instantly strike you as unsettling and unnecessary. After all, who needs swine that can luminesce under

HEV light? Scientists are divided on their efficacy with some claiming they provide invaluable insight into human disease and others arguing they’re just mutant monsters. These transgenic pigs are created by implanting jellyfish DNA into pig embryos, boosting stem-cell science and potentially producing enzymes to cure maladies such as haemophilia, for which there is currently no cure. Due to the stem cell’s unique ability to regenerate damaged tissue, scientists think they could be used for transplants and reformative medicine. But why take such measures to merge the DNA of two species so unalike? This is a question that has been spotlighted by the Home Office and is under increasing scrutiny with statistics revealing that in 2020, there were 1.44 million experimental procedures on the breeding of genetically-altered animals. Scientists have detected that the genetic material of pigs encodes a protein that lights up

in a bright green hue. As it is so easily identifiable, its stem cells could be injected into other animals so researchers can track how they develop without a biopsy. Similar experiments have been implemented on chickens to study embryo development. The eggs of these fluorescent poultry can be incubated and studied by scientists whereas mammal foetuses gestate in its mother’s uterus, making it much harder to monitor its physiological developments. Yet combining invertebrate genetic material with mammals is clearly no easy job, and it ruffles the feathers of animal rights organisations. However, it is also thought to be cost-effective as, in the words of Dr. Stefan Moisyadi from the University of Hawaii's Institute for Biogenesis Research, “Wecanmake enzymes a lotcheaperinanimalsthanafactory that will cost millions of dollars to build,

” as treatments for Haemophilia and other diseases are expensive and involve a series of lifelong injections. Nevertheless, this trend in genetic modification is disturbing; GeneWatch’s director Helen Wallace says “this blanket rise is worrying and bears little relation to reality. ” Animals such as mice and rats have been genetically edited so they succumb to human conditions like obesity and cancer. Environmental issues also arise from the widespread creation of such creatures as by introducing genetically modified animals, plants and organisms into the environment, we are devastating biodiversity. What if in this welter of genetic remodelling, a current species gets overrun by a new and dominant one? We may be saving human lives but are effectively saying our rights trump all those of the animal kingdom.

It isn’t only animals who are subject to genetic intervention but even some freakish fruits and vegetables. Perhaps in a few years time, your humble break-time banana will be an instrument of great medical influence as people could be vaccinated against diseases like hepatitis B and cholera from a simple snack. When an altered form of a virus is injected into a banana sapling, the virus' genetic makeup becomes permanently embedded in the plants cells, building up antibodies in the immune system of the consumer with life-saving potential. Cancer-curing fruit salad? Pigs might not fly after all.

Sources

● theverge.com/2013/12/30/5256732/scientists-creat e-glow-in-the-dark-pigs-using-jellyfish-dna ● news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4605202.st m ● gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-of-scientif ic-procedures-on-living-animals-great-britain-202 0/annual-statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-liv ing-animals-great-britain-2020 ● treehugger.com/bizarre-examples-of-genetic-engi neering-4869360