Ten of the most interesting new organisms in 2007

Genetics programmers have been experimenting with natural material for a long time, and recently these developments are not limited to the walls of secret R & D laboratories. Bringing out new animals and plants is done by students in practical classes and even artists with artists, not to mention commercial companies. Wired magazine has compiled a list of the ten most interesting new organisms that came into being in the past year.

1. Hypoallergenic cat Ashera GD
The company Lifestyle Pets has released a cat called Ashera GD, which does not cause allergies. Now the opportunity to start a cat appeared even for those people who previously could not afford it. True, it will cost a lot of pleasure: the Ashera GD model is sold in stores for $ 27,000. However, in December, the company sold six cats, including three in the largest genetically modified cats in Russia.

Next year, the company Lifestyle Pets is going to release a new transgenic cat, which will remain the size of a small kitten all its life.

2. The bacterium that produces alcohol
Genetic programming has become so simple that even children do it. A team of students at the University of Alberta presented at the International Genetically Engineered Machines competition a new type of E. Coli bacterium that secretes butyl alcohol (C 4 H 9 OH) in the course of its livelihoods.
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A number of promising start-ups, including Synthetic Genomics and LS9 , are engaged in removing biofuel-producing microorganisms.

3. Fluorescent Tadpoles
At an art exhibition in Ohio, Russian artist Dmitry Bulatov showed his genetically modified tadpoles , which can glow red and green. Bulatov is one of the world's leading artists who specialize in genetic engineering.

4. Insulin Salad
Sheets of lettuce can be added to food for diabetics in order to save them from having to make injections. Such a plant was constructed by genetics from Florida.

5. Trees with super absorption of CO 2
In connection with the growing threat of global warming, many scientists propose to solve the problem of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Trees traditionally perform this work, but fewer and fewer of them remain on the planet. The solution is to increase their efficiency. New poplar models have an increased ability to absorb CO 2 .

6. Mushroom vaccine factories
The military agency DARPA sponsored a research project for the removal of genetically modified fungi , which are a living factory for the manufacture of vaccines. In the case of a biological attack, you will need to quickly produce a huge amount of vaccines, and the mushrooms here will come to the rescue. According to experts, one mushroom plantation is capable of delivering 3 million doses of vaccine in 12 weeks.

7. Cats glowing in the dark
Cats that glow in the ultraviolet in red (pictured above) created by scientists from South Korea. The discovery has not only artistic, but also scientific value. The fact is that a marker of UV light can be added to a particular gene, so that at the birth of an animal, the analysis for the presence of this gene is performed instantly using an ultraviolet light bulb.

8. Bacteria to fight cancer cells
Chemotherapy, radiation exposure and surgery are not the only ways to fight cancer. The problem is that some parts of the human body are difficult to access for doctors. Here comes to the aid of a new bacterium of the Clostridium family , which multiplies in a cancerous tumor.

9. Schizophrenic Mouse
The news of the creation of a schizophrenic mouse at Johns Hopkins University surprised many, even those who are not the first to encounter the simulation of human diseases in animals. It used to be thought that schizophrenia is inherent exclusively in the human mind. But some scientists doubt it. They isolated the gene that blocks schizophrenia, and created a mouse without such a gene. The animal showed some signs of mental disorder: it hardly found food and expressed anxiety in open spaces.

10. Yeast explosive detector
Genetically modified yeast with the addition of a gene from a rat olfactory system and a fluorescent protein shine green when the substance DNT, which is part of dynamite, is in close proximity. Such biosensors can be cheaper and more efficient than traditional explosive sensors.

via Wired