Genetically Modified Animals.

In recent years, as the science of bio-engineering expands, there have been an increasing number of questionable and disturbing projects involving genetically modified animals ( and plants, of course, although for the purpose of this entry I’ll focus on the critters ).

In 2007, scientists created human-sheep chimeras - sheep that have 15% human cells and 85% sheep cells. The modified sheep are, ultimately, to be re-purposed as organ donors.

This, in my opinion, is wrong on so many ethical and moral levels.

Then we have the eerie glow-in-the-dark mice, who have had bioluminescent jellyfish genes spliced into their DNA so that their skin glows green under ultraviolet light. If you’re one of those emotionally fragile females who swoon at the sight of wee rodents, this should give you plenty of fodder for some truly epic nightmares...

... and recently it’s been discovered that spotted salamanders have algae living symbiotically within their cells, which has sparked the interest of scientists who posit the possibility of a future version of our species that may be able to breathe underwater if they can figure out how to Frankenstein a photosynthetic Homo Sapiens.

It’s a strange new world.

However, despite my many misgivings about the advisability of messing with nature, there IS one genetically modified beast that I would welcome with open arms. THE TRANSPARENT CAT. Think of it ... no more issues when you want to read a newspaper or book, an end to irritating interruptions at the computer ... truly an idea whose time is overdue!