Glow in the Dark Dogs

These may look like your average Beagles, but these guys are clones that contain a gene that makes them glow in the dark; or more accurately, they glow red in the dark when UV light is shone on them. The South Korean scientists responsible for the act say it was not done for novelty but for medical research. It turns out that this same experiment has been done on both mice and pigs.

I'm undecided about my feelings regarding genetic engineering and animal experimentation, but it seems to me, this was not done for medical benefits. According to Science Daily, while experiments on dogs are good for studying infectious disease, as far as genetics, the pig is a much more viable option. If we already succeeded in implanting the glow in the dark gene in the pig, there seems to be no medical need to do so with a dog.

In addition, this is the same research team (BioArts International) that began cloning dogs for rich Americans a few years back - and that certainly was not for research purposes. Unlike Westerners, Koreans see dogs as a product (mainly food), not a pet, so the claim that this experiment is for science could simply be to fight Western backlash.

To make matters even worse the scientists named all four puppies the same thing: Ruppy, a combination of Ruby and Puppy. This is proof that these people are idiots and should not be given the resources to do any more genetic experiments. Genetic engineering in the wrong hands is terrifying; think Brave New World, Gattaca or recent film adaptations of H.G. Well's The Island of Dr. Moreau.