Little green piglets could aid humans
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
A cloned pig whose genes were altered to make it glow fluorescent green has passed on the trait to its young, a development that could lead to the breeding of pigs for human transplant organs, a Chinese university reported Tuesday.
The glowing piglets’ birth proves transgenic pigs are fertile and able to pass on engineered traits to their offspring, according to Liu Zhonghua of Northeast Agricultural University.
The piglets’ mother was one of three pigs born with the trait in December 2006 after pig embryos were injected with fluorescent green protein. Two of the 11 piglets glow fluorescent green from their snout, feet and tongue under ultraviolet light, the university said.
