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#7 GloFish
The origin of these crazy looking fish can be traced to 1999 when scientists in Singapore were experimenting with a fluorescent protein extracted from a jellyfish. That gene, which causes a green fluorescent effect was inserted into a zebrafish embryo, where it was absorbed into its genome. The protein made the fish glow brightly. Although ‘glowing’ may not be the precise term. This fish actually absorbs light, and then re-emits it. The original idea was to create a fish that could effectively detect pollution by glowing, with the fluorescent light becoming stronger in the presence of environmental toxins. Since then, the fish have become a thriving commercial enterprise, and are available in variety of fluorescent colors, including ‘Starfire Red’ and ‘Galactic Purple’. Did you know these fish were the first genetically modified animals that were made available as pets?
#6 Featherless Fowl Play
At first, you might not recognize these odd-looking critters as chickens. They were genetically engineered to be featherless and were created at a laboratory in Tel Aviv, Israel. And aside from frightening you, the appearance of these naked cluckers does serve a valid purpose. According to experts, these featherless birds are more energy efficient. That is, their chances of surviving in warmer habitats are greater than they would normally be. That would make fiscal sense because less money would have to be spent on cooling systems. But animal rights activists say that the fowl's featherless condition makes them more vulnerable to parasites and sunburn.
#5 Piggy Bank
Have you heard the stories about embryos being created that were half human and half pig? A group of pig embryos actually was implanted with human stem cells, which were later placed inside a sow. Pig embryo tissue developed from those human stem cells, which were extracted at 28 weeks. That was the cutoff point before the cells might have formed into a potential piglet- humanoid mutant. The intention of all this is to grow 100 percent human replacement organs inside the porcine hosts. Experts say that such organs will reduce the chance of rejection by the recipient’s immune system. But there are some ethical concerns. Like, what happens if an excess amount of human DNA results in a pig that develops human-like characteristics?
#4 Monkey Head Transplant
Maybe you've seen your share of sci-fi and horror movies about hideous creatures being created from head transplants. While researching this episode, we found several examples where this occurred in real life. None of the stories involved the successful transplant of a human head. But we did find a documented case from 1970 that involved the transplantation of a monkey’s head. Neurosurgeons at Case Western Reserve University surgically attached a monkey’s living head onto the body of another monkey that had been decapitated. It was considered a partial success because the animal could see and hear, and reportedly tried to bite at the doctors. But because the surgery involved severing the spinal cord, the creature was paralyzed. It died after nine days due to immune rejection.
#3 The Earmouse
The unforgettable image of a mouse with an ear growing out of its back spurred a lot of controversy when it went viral in 1995. Protests against genetic engineering and charges of animal abuse due to the creature's lack of hair were levied. But the image was a little misleading because the rodent subject suffered no abuse. It was a ‘nude mouse’, which had a mutation that inhibits hair growth. And the ear-like shape was really a structure created from cow cells that were seeded in an ear-shaped mold. When the cartilage was implanted under the mouse’s skin it could grow on its own. The researchers behind the experiment intended to prove that cartilaginous structures could successfully be transplanted into the human body.
#2 Killer Bees
What can go wrong when humans meddle with nature? For an answer, look to the 1950s when the European honeybee was crossbred with its African counterpart. With the intention of increasing the production of honey, the insects were released into Brazil. But these Africanized Honeybees turned out to be highly aggressive, and two swarms of them managed to escape quarantine in 1957. After spreading throughout the Americas, they became known as Killer Bees due to their antagonistic nature. They can deliver more than 10 times the stings of a European honeybee. In addition to amassing in swarms of some 800,000 individuals, they’re known to have killed about 1,000 humans. And since these tiny terrors can survive in habitats ranging from jungles to deserts, there’s no escaping them.
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