CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
A cloned pig whose genes were altered to make it glow fluorescent green has passed on the trait to its young, a development that could lead to the future breeding of pigs for human transplant organs, a Chinese university reported.
The glowing piglets' birth proves transgenic pigs are fertile and able to pass on their engineered traits to their offspring
"Continued development of this technology can be applied to ... the production of special pigs for the production of human organs for transplant,"
The piglets' mother was one of three pigs born with the trait in December 2006
Two of the 11 piglets glow fluorescent green from their snout, trotters, and tongue under ultraviolet light
the presence of the green protein would allow genetically modified cells to be tracked if they were transplanted into a human
much more research and further trials -- both in animals and in humans -- would be necessary before the benefits of the technology could be seen.
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