Glow In The Dark .......... Cats

[Glen C]

Scientists in Korea have developed a Glow In The Dark cat, at least there would be no problem finding kitty at night to put them inside

Story here: http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/s...135563190.html

[greenLED]

They did pigs last year, plants before that, and "glow fish" have been out since around 2003.

[Glen C]

Thanks GreenLED, I didn't realise glow in the dark pets were so popular!

[greenLED]

Of all those, I've only seen glow-fish being actively sold as pets.

[PhotonWrangler]

I think that reporter needs to learn the difference between fluorescence (which we're apparently seeing in the photo) and phosphorescence. An item (or a creature) that glows under black light is not necessarily a glow-in-the-dark item unless the glow continues after the UV excitation has been removed. Fluorescence means something that glows under black light but stops glowing when the UV light is turned off. The article mentions a fluorescence protein, and sure enough, the photo shows the kitties being illuminated by a (presumably UV) light source.

[greenLED]

You're absolutely right, PW!

I just remembered, the very first experiments with phosphorescent transgenic organisms were done with plants (either potato or bean plants).

[Dances with Flashlight]

I've got a gray cat who's invisible on the floor at night. Probably hates me by now for stepping on him so many times. Does this mean I could see poor Smokey with an Arc AAA-UV?

[DM51]

Quote from an article about this:

The fluffy white Turkish Angora cats now glow red when exposed to ultraviolet light and the scientists believe the process could be used to develop treatments for a range of genetic illnesses. The technology can also help clone endangered animals like tigers, leopards and wildcats.

[lctorana]

OT, but someone please remind me.

What colour do cat's eyes glow in torchlight?

[Tubor]

Well at least they only glow under UV. Do you get much UV outside at night?

[mchlwise]

Phosphorescence, flourescence...

Show me a cat that's bio-luminiscent and I'll be interested.

[PhotonWrangler]

Quote from an article about this:

Considering this cat's picture, his name should be Rudolph!

[z96Cobra]

With a sufficiently bright (and properly sized) flashlight and a little imagination, you can get any cat to glow like that. The cat just won't be very happy about it, and changing the batteries could be messy...

Roger

[Valolammas]

OT, but someone please remind me.
What colour do cat's eyes glow in torchlight?

Not sure about cats, but with dogs it varies. Some dogs' eyes glow green, others blue, and I think I've seen yellow, too. Our current dog's eyes glow blue.

I guess that didn't really answer your question, but my point was that it may well vary with cats, too.

[lctorana]

I'm thinking about spotlighting - how you can tell a rabbit from a cat from a possum, etc.

[Minjin]

[woodrow]

My good buddy in kansas was dating a Phd Geneticist (I am sure I am not spelling that right) for about 8 years. She was working on this type of thing but with insects. She was one of those bookish brilliant women...the kind that can splice DNA all day and get locked in thier own car on the way home...or (literally) cannot figure how to bake a Red Barron pizza.

Anyway, she was always telling us about her experiments. I told her when she made a orange rabbit or cat or deer, I would buy some to breed. None availible yet though.

[TedTheLed]

perfect the chase lights running up and down the tail and I'll take one, or two..(unless that would tend to keep the kitty up at night..)
-- 'till then I guess I'll have to be content with my cute cuddly little cuttlefish.

[PhotonWrangler]

The picture of the bright green cat just looks like a photoshop job. The skin, fur and whiskers are all the same color of green. The orange cats, on the other hand, appear to be showing actual fluorescence in their skin which shows through their non-fluorescing fur.

[DM51]

... my cute cuddly little cuttlefish.

Cuttlefish are real GITD, aren't they? Pic?