Evolved Mouse Project

Hi everyone ! I'm not sure that scientists nowadays really have a sense of humour, or are too free.

Most of the time, scientists carry out an experiment to get something useful out of it right ? However in this experiment, they decided to throw a bunch of genes into a mouse just to see what happens and records the results. Ergo, we got a mouse that chirps like a bird from Japan.

What will singing mice be used for ? Nobody really knows now. However, scientists claim that the goal of this project is to artificially speed up evolution but this is taking a rather strange turn right ?

This is a short clip of one of the mice using different tones and sounds, sort of like a dialect. Maybe we would even be able to communicate with them one day!

This is just the Start

Genetic engineering has been just recently used in the daily uses of human life. However, the people still are ignorant of the deeper details of genetic engineering like its advantages and disadvantages, only looking at the bigger picture of its uses in everyday life but in no idea what. 

As a teaser, this is one example of genetic engineering in our life.

What do you see here? A perfectly innocent cabbage that we use in cooking right?

And this ; is the Androctonus australis, one of the most dangerous scorpions in the world. Its venom can cause tissue damage, hemorrhaging and even death.

  These two, one deadly and the other perfectly innocent combined together and what do you get ? 

A poisonous cabbage! 

In 2002, researchers at the College of Life Sciences in Beijing combined the two and declared it safe for human consumption. Supposedly, the toxin they used and engineered into the cabbage's genome acts as a built-in pesticide and is not at all dangerous to humans.

HOWEVER as we all know, an organism's genetic makeup changes with each successive generation. With the building blocks already in place, who knows how long would it take before these genes mutate into something that is actually toxic to humans ? And when we find out, would it already be too late ?

According to the researchers, if something like a caterpillar tries to eat the cabbage it's immediately paralysed and then spams so hard it died from the convulsions. 

Can you even imagine dying from such a painful death ? 

This is only one example in the impact of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) in our lives.

It's up to you to view whether this actually is helpful or deadly to mankind.

Stay tuned for more ;)