Florescent cats in UV light … ???
Looking at a few news sites today, I learned that Korean scientists have cloned cats that are florescent in UV light. The first article said:
The Ministry of Science and Technology said a team led by Kong Il-keun, an animal cloning expert at Gyeongsang National University, manipulated the RFP in the skin tissue of Turkish Angora cats.
The second article (the one with the photo) said:
The red cloned cat research is expected to be utilized in dealing with certain genetic diseases in animals and humans. It will also help reproduce rare animals, such as tigers and wildcats, which are on the verge of extinction, the team said.
While it may seem that this is simply science for science’s sake and this cat could stand in for Rudolf on a cold winter night if Santa had a big UV light, it does appear that it has some legitimate research uses in dealing with genetic diseases. It’s also a theoretical test of their ability to change a genetic trait with a virus. This is all well and good but what about these cats?
I’m all for gaining knowledge and for solving some of the health problems that people have and maybe this is a first step in doing this; however, I can’t help but think that while the proof of concept with getting the skin cells to fluoresce didn’t do any harm (or at least I hope not, one of the kittens was born dead according to the article). But then you change the cat to be born with a disease and then come up with a treatment…doesn’t do much for the cat does it?
Sure, if push came to shove I’d side with humanity against animals but there has to be another way to test this stuff out without putting animals in danger. There seems to be an US vs THEM attitude — we’re the top of the heap, the epitome of evolution, so we can do anything we want because they’re just animals. Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. If indeed we wish to be as great as we think we are then humans need to also realize that they are stewards of this planet and its inhabitants down to the smallest insects/whatever. So, far with global warming, acid rain, genetically engineered crops escaping from test fields — well, our grades are failing and it’s the generations unborn who will be paying for our hubris and failures.
Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. The ends do not always justify the means no matter how good those ends may be. I can say that now because it’s all theoretical, but if a family member was dying and the price of saving that loved one’s life was to do more of this type of research — I don’t know what choice I’d make in that case. And that’s the point, the ethics of these situations have to be spelled out before we’ve traveled so far down the road that we can’t, or won’t, turn back.
Do we need more research into genetic diseases and ways to cure them? Yes, we do. But what are we willing to do to get those cures? That’s the question. Is there another way other than animal testing? Has anyone even looked into it or, since animal testing is so easy compared to all the research necessary to find alternatives, will anyone even look into it — after all, they’re only animals.