Transcript Sci/Tech Green mice boost genetic engineering - School

Since 1996, millions of acres of farmland have been
planted with genetically engineered (GE) crops—mainly
corn, soybeans, and cotton.
Genes from an animal, say, a fish, can be put into a
plant, a strawberry for instance. In fact this is an
actual example of an attempt to "improve" strawberry
plants. The fish gene is supposed to make the
strawberries more resistant to frost by causing the
strawberry plant to produce a form of antifreeze which
the fish normally produces to endure cold ocean
conditions.
Pest resistant genetically engineered
plants may improve crop growth in
the third world.
Researchers have found that inserting an animal gene into
tomatoes can produce hardier tomatoes. Modified
tomatoes better resist one major disease and also function
better in cooler weather.
Researchers have announced they have taken another step
toward showing that a useful vaccine against hepatitis B can be
made from a genetically modified potato.
While it's no secret that drugs like steroids have
plagued sports for decades, an article in Discover
Magazine says it's nothing compared to the chaos
that could ensue if athletes start to misuse new
discoveries in gene therapy
The quest for a blue rose still
goes on but genetic engineering
may soon solve the problem.
researchers tried inserting that liver gene into plants to
see if they could create transgenic plants that would be
permanently blue
research could lead to things like engineering
cotton to grow blue, which would save the trouble
of having to dye blue jeans
Scientists have found a gene in mice that
might control the reactions that people have
when they stop drinking alcohol..
Monday, October 25, 1999 Published at 10:49 GMT 11:49 UK
GM Christmas tree would glow
Frustrated fiddling with Christmas tree fairy lights could become a thing of the past as genetic engineers have proposed a tree which
grows its own lights.
The idea for glowing pine needles was dreamed up by five postgraduate students at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, as their entry
in a biotechnology competition.
It is a perfectly possible proposition, as genetic engineers elsewhere have already created glowing mice, silk and potatoes.
'Only problem cost'
Neurophysiology student Katy Presland, 29, said: "We're talking about a green luminescent Christmas tree that glows in the dark and
produces a noticeable light during the day.
"It is quite feasible. The only problem in reality is the cost," she added.
"We calculate that the initial trees would cost about £200, which means going for the upper end of the market. But I'm sure a lot of
people would love them, especially the Americans."
Jellyfish and fireflies
The team detail a plan to modify a Douglas spruce with two genes to make it illuminate. These would taken from fluorescent jellyfish
and fireflies. The first gene produces a substance called green fluorescent protein (GFP), while the second results in an enzyme called
luciferase.
The trees would be modified by infecting seedlings with a harmless bacterium carrying the genes. A chemical compound called
luciferin is needed to activate luciferase, which in turn "switches on" GFP and makes it glow.
In the case of the luminous Douglas spruce, the luciferin would be mixed into a special fertilizer sold with the tree.
The genes for green fluorescence have been widely used by genetic engineers because they allows scientists to see at a glance
whether an attempt to introduce a gene into an organism has been successful.
Blue fluorescent proteins have also been discovered and, last month, a red fluorescent protein
was found in a coral. This means that, in theory, the GM Christmas tree could grow its own
multicoloured lights.
Sci/Tech
Green mice boost genetic engineering
The mice embryos on the left glow in ultraviolet light, right
Scientists have created green-glowing mice to prove the worth of a new geneticengineering technique that uses sperm to insert the new DNA.
A normal mouse
crouches next to a
"super" mouse.
Available soon in May, 2006 GFPexpressing Axolotl