GFP axolotls

GFP axolotls. It was only a matter of time! This is the first I've seen of the website for the axolotl colony since it moved to Kentucky.
 
So indianna university axolotl colony moved?
I may be completely stupid, but what does GFP stand for? Are they refering to the glow in the dark guy?
 
GFP = Green Fluorescent Protein

The axolotl must have been engineered to express the protein thoughout its body, so that it glows green under the correct lighting.
 
oooo... i don't know how i feel about that. I'm a science major in college, and we've talked about stuff like this in class. Someone made a rabbit with the GFP gene, and he called it "art." But i don't know, i think the axolotl's are cool as they are, and don't need to be genetically modified. lol, i know people think it's cool, but it's "eh" to me...
 
I'm with you on that one, Amanda
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thats one reason im so misanthropic, humans just cant leave anything alone can they? always have to be better than the next person. it pisses me off they use animals for science. why dont they have some babies and use them if theyre so intent on modifying stuff? i beleive humans are no more important than animals, yet we think we are the 'superior' species. yeah sure, we cant even live in harmony. 'dont fix something thats not broken'
 
Sharn, you made an excellent point! Yes, animals are treated like trash, I see people, children mostly treating the local animals like garbage. There are a lot of California Gopher snakes that come around looking for the mice and rats because there is a very large field behind our apartments. The ignorant people here kill the snakes because they feel they are "bad" "Evil" A human will do more damage to a Gopher snake than it will to a human any day, yet people insist on ridding this area of them.

If that keeps up, mice and rats are going to eventually over populate.

I think it is rather pointless to make a Glowing Axolotl or any other animal at that matter. Really, what is the point in it?

Kudos to you, Sharn, Excellent point
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What's wrong with a green axolotl? Everyone enjoys their albinos which seems to have originated from an "unnatural" cross with tiger salamander. What was the point of creating an albino axolotl?
 
That was by breeding, this is by genetic alterations. And it only glows under a special light.
 
"Genetic alterations" is a very vague term. One could consider selective breeding to be "genetic altering" of a species. The differences don't seem to be that great. It's just a new way of creating a novel color morph (under the correct lighting, or course).
 
I guess it's a fine line between what's 'natural' (ie: Breeding is natural, even if we put two individuals together to get certain traits), and what is 'interference' (introducing a gene that an animal would never naturally see into an animal is not natural). Maybe in 20 years, we'll have fluorescent axolotls. I don't know. I prefer my animals the way I prefer my food, natural.
 
i totally agree with you joan s. you made a very good point!!.
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Ditto,what joan said!There is a major difference between what naturally occurrs and what is forced on animals,all animals,none of them ask for it,or get payed, and I bet the scientists wouldnt go performing these experiments on themselves would they!?!They wouldnt want to suffer.Yet,they are happy to do things to animals just to see what happens.I have seen a lot of anti vivisection papers,it's sickening.Sorry about the blah guys but this is one of my pet hates (excuse the pun,lol).
 
Apryl, I disagree. I don't think any scientist who works with animals would do something to the animals that they wouldn't do to themselves. I work with animals on a daily basis, and they may be small invertebrates (beetles), but I still have qualms about killing them. You always grow kind of attached to your test subjects. And always keep in mind the two Australian guys who just one the Nobel Prize for medicine. In order to prove H. pylori caused ulcers, they drank it, gave themselves an ulcer, and then healed it with antibiotics. Now that's dedication!
 
I'm on the fence with this issue
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I don't get the point of the green axies, but as for using animals to benefit medicine I think I agree, even though the animal obviously didn't give consent.

(Message edited by PlantH2O on October 04, 2005)
 
Well I think that genetic "alterations" are justified. And for the comment about doing experiments on humans that is just ridiculous . Humans are the dominant species on the planet and have intelligence a little bit above axolotls. And, if you are against it because it isn't natural well then you shouldn't own an axolotl because it isn't natural for an axolotl to sit in a tank. In addition, genetic alterations and breeding towards mutations are the reasons that the axolotl species isn't extinct. Axolotls also have unique characteristics that may be able to eventually help out human kind through various experiments and tests.
 
we consider ourselves the dominant species, ever noticed how theres more animals than us?
just because we have 'high tech' ways of interacting, can build things etc doesnt mean we are smarter than animals. its just because out pathetic species has over run the planet that were so in love with ourselves. IMO i think animals are smarter, they have developed ways that dont harm the enviroment, live in peace generally and dont go around with guns killing each other because their religions differ. humans are pathetic, at least its not in other animals natures to self destruct
 
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    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
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