Lepus Lumina: Scientists Develop Glowing Rabbits

For those who follow the Big Bang Theory, one of the most curious accomplishments of the character Sheldon Cooper is luminescent fish. Now, scientists from universities in Turkey and Hawaii have done Cooper one better: luminescent rabbits. That’s right, bunnies that glow in the dark. They have also produced glowing cats and cockroaches.

The scientist has produced a litter with two out of eight bunnies that glow. The objective was not rabbits that you could read by but rather to prove the efficacy of a genetic manipulation technique. However, the glowing cats and cockroaches would have their benefits as well. Cats would be better for cars (and birds) to see while cockroaches would be easier to exterminate.

University of Hawaii associate professor Stefan Moisyadi, however, insisted that the purpose is less . . . well . . . flashy. He is quoted as saying that the “final goal is to develop animals that act as barrier reactives to produce beneficial molecules in their milk that can be cheaply extracted, especially in countries that can not afford big pharma plants that make drugs, that usually cost $1bn to build, and be able to produce their own protein-based medication in animals.” Well okay, but you also can get luminescent rabbits.

I know of one possible customer who would readily embrace a more visible rabbit:

Source: Guardian