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GENETICALLY DESIGNED PETS TO FIT THE OWNER´S TASTE - Page 3

© Juan C. Mendible

There are mice that through genetic manipulation have had an essential gene knocked out, that is, genes without which the mice, in theory, could not live. However, they do, which could only mean that another gene or genes are fulfilling the lost essential function. On the other hand, in 1999 the creation of a GM mouse that was more intelligent, since it learned certain routines faster and remembered them four longer times, was announced. It was later reported that such mice were more prone to chronic pain -- that is, the intelligence-associated gene had another function. These two examples suggest that in animals there are genes that have several functions, and in consequence it cannot be guaranteed that the elimination of one particular gene will not bring unknown problems to the GM cats.

As a molecular biologist, I think this science has great potential to bring extraordinary benefits to man, the environment and animals. One should not be afraid of it or blindly oppose it. However, the mercenaries of science impair its prestige and are in part responsible for bioterrorists acts that ruin experiments and delay important research when they burn GM harvests or biotech labs.

Why do I call them mercenaries? Well, according to an article in The New Scientist by Kurt Kleiner, the principal scientist of the company Xiangzhong Yang and a cloning expert at the University of Connecticut, when asked what could happen if the protein is important for the cats, he answered: “We don’t really know. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” To me this means "We can do it and we don't really care how many cats we sacrifice in the process." This tells you lots about the level of responsibility of this group. It is obvious that, as with narcotraffic, this industry will only flourish if there is a demand for it.

I think that it is the responsibility of bioethics groups, prestigious scientists and animal rights organizations to educate people, not so they oppose research that undoubtedly will save lives and improve its quality in the coming years or to destroy scientific installations but to avoid the demand for such animals. This could be done by letting people know the number of cats that will be sacrificed and will suffer just to satisfy the whim of a few humans. If this project advances, my dear reader, you only have to think about the infinite possibilities that human curiosity and banality could produce. Dogs with feathers, maybe? You can think about other varieties.

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