Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   Ricki Crush Bandicute Tarr (rickitarr@beige.party)'s status on Thursday, 17-Apr-2025 22:25:00 JST Ricki Crush Bandicute Tarr

   One of my favorite science stories, is when scientists inserted jellyfish DNA in feline eggs, creating glow in the dark cats.

   This just sounds like the most made up thing possible, but it's actually part of research to cure feline AIDS.

   • HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Ricki Crush Bandicute Tarr (rickitarr@beige.party)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 09:58:14 JST Ricki Crush Bandicute Tarr

     in reply to

     https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-glow-in-the-dark-kitty-77372763/

   • Embed this notice
     David J. Atkinson (meltedcheese@c.im)'s status on Friday, 18-Apr-2025 09:58:42 JST David J. Atkinson

     in reply to

     @RickiTarr Luciferase is the generic term for the substrate and enzyme that result in #bioluminescence in a number or organisms. Luciferase genes can be synthesized in the lab through #genetic engineering and inserted into organisms or transfected into cells. It is used in the “action” part of a synthetic molecular switch to provide evidence that the switch worked. The Wikipedia article is a decent explainer. In addition to the applications it mentions, it has been used in pigs and rabbits.

     https://www.lubio.ch/blog/luciferase

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luciferase