Glowing bunnies could be the beginning of new genetic disease treatment in humans

Experimentation is as much a part of the human psyche as anything. Our world would look very different if humans had no interest in finding out how things worked, and why they are the way they are. Instead of sitting on their tree stump, content with living in caves and carrying everything from one side of their village to the next, cavemen invented the wheel. They experimented with what they had available around them, and came up with one of the greatest inventions of all time – without such an invention, Cincinnati auto dealers would have nothing to sell.

The most recent and arguably the most interesting type of experiment involves bunnies, jellyfish, and the dark. Scientists have successfully discovered a way in which to make bunnies glow in the dark with genetic modifications. A team of scientists from a Turkish lab and the University of Hawaii have been working hard on an experiment that just this week came to fruition. A litter of bunnies have been born in Istanbul, and two of the babies were born glowing. Scientists made this happen by injecting with the genes that make a jellyfish glow, and are then injected into a rabbit embryo. The injected embryos are then implanted in a female rabbit – and the result is glowing rabbits.

Scientists say that this accomplishment means that similar techniques could be used in humans to treat genetic diseases. This advancement in science would have endless benefits to the human race, and while the actual experimentation in humans is still far off, the prospect is exciting.