Chinese scientists create glow in the dark pigs

We don't know how you felt upon reading the title of this post, but we're sure it would have been better (or more appropriate) if you had first dropped some acid.

From the report:

There's some good news today for those of you who concerned about how to find your sausages in the event of a power cut: Chinese scientists have announced the successful production of "partially green fluorescent pigs".

The glow-in-the-dark porkers are the work of a team at the Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin, Reuters reports. Boffins used genetic material from jellyfish which was "injected into the womb of a sow which gave birth to the three pigs 114 days later".

If you're been paying attention to glow in the dark animal news, you might know that Taiwanese scientists had stole the Harbin scientists' thunder earlier this year. However, what's more interesting is that according to one report in the Chinese media, neither China nor Taiwan was the first to create a glow in the dark pig: the USA, Korea, and Japan have also done it. Don't know if that's true—if you really have nothing else to do, look it up and enlighten us in a comment. That report also reminds us that the end goal of all this genetic engineering of pigs is not green ham to go with your green eggs, but rather the development of organs for transplants, because certain pig organs seem to work well in the human body. And of course, the Year of the Pig is almost upon us. How timely. Finally, here are some of the comments from the second link:

I'm glad that cure for cancer has all finally been worked out. It lets scientists work matters so much more important.

By: LADawson on January 13, 2006 at 02:38pm

Geez, all this negativity against poor defenseless swine that glow green in the dark! I can't think of a better replacement for the drab grey elephant the GOP uses for its mascot.

By: Voice0fReason on January 13, 2006 at 02:53pm
Flag: [abusive]
If they can make one with a stripe down its back that glows yellow, the Bushpigs will finally have their mascot.

By: MoeLarryAndJesus on January 13, 2006 at 03:05pm
Flag: [abusive]
green eggs and ham...

in the dark...

anyone?

By: vinny on January 13, 2006 at 03:14pm
Flag: [abusive]

Photo from Der Spiegel online