Every once in a while science comes up with something so amazing, so incredible, that the universe seems filled with wonder and possibilities. Then there are the days that scientists create glow-in-the-dark pigs. Yes, a team of scientists from South China Agricultural University has created a litter of glowing piglets, which they recently unveiled to the world. The magical feat was accomplished by injecting the pig embryos with DNA from glowing jellyfish.
Scientists are one step closer to creating a real-life version of Dr. Seuss‘ green eggs and ham, thanks to the birth of ten transgenic pigs in late December that glow green when placed under a black light. Zhenfang Wu and Zicong Li of the South China Agricultural University used a technique developed by reproductive scientists from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine to transfer plasmids (small DNA molecules, separate from the chromosomal DNA within a cell) carrying a fluorescent protein from jellyfish DNA into the pig embryos.