They sound more like a Victorian freak show than science, but researchers say that glow-in-the dark monkeys created in a Japanese lab could be a breakthrough in treating human inherited diseases.
The monkeys were given a gene from a jellyfish and, significantly, it was inherited by their young — the first time a genetically modified animal has passed such genes down a generation. Researchers said it was major step towards understanding Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease.
Animal rights groups fear it could mean more primates are used in research labs. It also raises the possibility of genetically modifying humans, although such work is illegal in Britain and in most countries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Erika Sasaki and her team at the Central Institute for Experimental Animals in Kawasaki, Japan, added a gene to marmoset embryos that made them glow green under ultraviolet light. The embryos were transferred into surrogate females, and produced five live births.
All carried the green gene somewhere in their bodies, and two passed it to offspring. Last month, a male was born using sperm from one monkey called Kou, and two more glowing marmosets have been born since. One died after being bitten by its mother. All are healthy, and do not glow under normal lighting.
The scientists plan to create families of monkeys that develop neuro-degenerative diseases.
“Our method promises to be a powerful tool for studying the mechanisms of human diseases and developing new therapies,” they wrote in the journal Nature.
But an accompanying editorial warns it “promises to raise the stakes” over animal rights by “intentionally introducing a harmful gene into the primate gene pool.”
Genetically modified mice are often used to learn about human diseases, but in some cases primates will be more informative.
“This is potentially very exciting,” said Kieran Breen of the Parkinson’s Disease Society. “Because primates are much closer to humans than mice, we’ll have a new animal model to work with.”
Aside from whether the technique can indeed recreate human-type diseases, a European directive may prohibit use of primates in such research. Vicky Robinson, of NC3Rs, which campaigns to reduce use of animals, said: “We can’t assume a transgenic marmoset will be better for disease research than, for example, a transgenic mouse. Any researcher will need to show the added scientific value of using a monkey outweighs the significant ethical considerations accompanying its use.”
India yesterday summoned Canada’s high commissioner in India to “convey strong concern” over Sikh protesters in Canada and how they were allowed to breach the security of India’s diplomatic mission and consulates. Canadian media reported that hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Indian consulate in Vancouver on Saturday over demands for an independent Sikh state, a simmering issue for decades that was triggered again in the past few weeks. Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab in India. “It is expected that the Canadian government will take all steps which are required to ensure the
CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS: The US destroyer’s routine operations in the South China Sea would have ‘serious consequences,’ the defense ministry said China yesterday threatened “serious consequences” after the US Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a breach of its sovereignty and security. The warning came amid growing tensions between China and the US in the region, as Washington pushes back at Beijing’s growingly assertive posture in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway it claims virtually in its entirety. On Thursday, after the US sailed the USS Milius guided-missile destroyer near the Paracel Islands, China said its navy and
‘DUAL PURPOSE’: Upgrading the port is essential for the Solomon Islands’ economy and might not be military focused, but ‘it is not about bases, it is about access,’ an analyst said The Solomon Islands has awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara in a project funded by the Asian Development Bank, a Solomon Islands official said yesterday. China Civil Engineering Construction Co (CCECC) was the only company to submit a bid in the competitive tender, Solomon Islands Ministry of Infrastructure Development official Mike Qaqara said. “This will be upgrading the old international port in Honiara and two domestic wharves in the provinces,” Qaqara said. Responding to concerns that the port could be deepened for Chinese naval access, he said there would be “no expansion.” The Solomon
The US Department of Justice on Friday unveiled spying charges against a Russian who, under a Brazilian alias, studied at a Washington university and then tried to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The indictment of Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov said it would try to contest his extradition to Russia from Brazil, where he is jailed on identity fraud charges. Cherkasov, 39, was detained at the beginning of April last year by Dutch authorities for using fake identity papers. He arrived in the country as Viktor Muller Ferreira, a Brazilian, to take a position at the ICC as a junior analyst. The