Scared people can be pushed to do many things that defy logic. But when it comes to certain pets, people often gravitate toward those that are novel or those that may impress their friends. When the first group out of South Korea promised they could clone your pooch for a mere $100,000, monied people struggling with grief were all in. The results were those geneticists expected but those same results often did not meet the expectations of others.
Those who wanted an exact copy of their beloved pet because they were grieving the impending loss of that pet were often overjoyed. Perhaps it was a fluffy white dog that had a fluffy white puppy cloned from its tissues. The people and scientists soon noticed the clones didn’t behave the same, eat the same or even have the same trainability. But for those stricken with grief, it didn’t matter. They observed enough similarities to draw all kinds of emotionally satisfying conclusions. And in fairness to them, they benefitted from the mental and emotional solace.
Those who enjoy such science can today purchase all kinds of at-home kits to genetically engineer a wide variety of genetic material from various species, including some bacteria that live in your gut; your lower gut, that is. Most of these kits show proof of working by having the organism produce unusual colors that are not natural but that are otherwise harmless. They simply switch out the genes that code for natural colors and implant the desired color.
If you want to cut to the chase, you can purchase pet fish for less than $10 that express the color of your choice. GloFish are the first pets available for sale that have been genetically modified for aesthetic reasons. GloFish were first developed in 1999 from zebrafish (Danio rerio), a small, gold-and-blue striped fish native to India and Bangladesh. Now they can be in your tank, too.
Powell, of Pullman, retired as public information officer for Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman. This column reflects his thoughts and no longer represents WSU. He may be contacted at charliepowell74@gmail.com.