Patwa
Aquarium Advice Activist
I was watching a science show recently and I saw a snippet about a scientist who successfully created the first genetically modified aquarium fish - called the Night Pearl. The fish actually GLOWS int he dark....(albeit with the aid of a black light...)
Seems this scientist sliced a gene from a glowing jellyfish with the humble Zebrafish....hmmm sounds fishy..but it worked out.
Anyways.....I think it is in a pretty grey area when it comes to aquarium politics... ....sort of like the Painted Glassfish debate....but this is different.....these Night Pearl fish are not subjected to undue pain or turmoil as the Glassfish are.....and, more importantly, they are born that way.....they seem to carry on as normal Zebrafish do.
What do you think??? is beauty in the eye of the beholder??? or should we find this scientist and kick his a** for messing with momma nature??
Keep in mind, that for 99.5% of us, fish-keeping is more about showcasing the beauty and the uniqueness of the fish than protecting their genes/habitats/whatever (if the latter were the case do you think aquariums would be as big of a hobby as it is now???...hell no!).
Zach.
Seems this scientist sliced a gene from a glowing jellyfish with the humble Zebrafish....hmmm sounds fishy..but it worked out.
"The so-called Night Pearls are likely the first genetically modified pets anyone will own. HJ Tsai, a professor at National Taiwan University, created the Night Pearls as a way to make fish organs more visible when studying them under the microscope. Tsai isolated a gene from naturally glowing jellyfish, extracted it, and inserted it into the DNA of zebrafish. To Tsai's surprise, the jellyfish gene made zebrafish glow."
Source: http://www.sciscoop.com/story/2003/6/26/72442/4245
Anyways.....I think it is in a pretty grey area when it comes to aquarium politics... ....sort of like the Painted Glassfish debate....but this is different.....these Night Pearl fish are not subjected to undue pain or turmoil as the Glassfish are.....and, more importantly, they are born that way.....they seem to carry on as normal Zebrafish do.
What do you think??? is beauty in the eye of the beholder??? or should we find this scientist and kick his a** for messing with momma nature??
Keep in mind, that for 99.5% of us, fish-keeping is more about showcasing the beauty and the uniqueness of the fish than protecting their genes/habitats/whatever (if the latter were the case do you think aquariums would be as big of a hobby as it is now???...hell no!).
Zach.