[Gort]

Genetically modified cats for sale
Wednesday, October 27, 2004 Posted: 5:05 PM EDT (2105 GMT)

Cat lovers can put down a deposit to buy a genetically engineered kitten in 2007.

(CNN) -- A California biotechnology company has started taking orders for a hypoallergenic cat for pet lovers prone to allergies.

The genetically engineered feline, which is expected to be available from 2007, is the first in a planned series of lifestyle pets, Los Angeles-based Allerca said in a press release.

Allerca hopes to attract customers among the millions of people worldwide who suffer from cat allergies.

Up to 10 percent of the U.S. population alone are believed to be prone to symptoms that can affect the eyes, nose, ears, throat, lungs and skin.

Many cat lovers ignore medical advice and discomfort and choose to keep the animals as pets, or use expensive medications to cope with their allergies.

Cat allergen is also one of the main causes of childhood allergies, asthma and other respiratory diseases such as bronchitis.

Cat allergies are caused by a potent protein secreted by the cat's skin and salivary glands. The allergen is so small it can remain airborne for months.

Using "gene silencing" technology, Allerca is able to suppress the production of the protein.

The first breed of hypoallergenic cats will be British Shorthairs, which are considered to be ideal pets with friendly, playful and affectionate personalities.

Allerca expects the first kittens to be born in early 2007 and is already accepting $250 deposits from interested customers.

Allerca president Simon Brodie told The Associated Press that he ultimately hopes to sell 200,000 of the cats annually at $3,500 each in the United States.

Brodie said the cats would be spayed and neutered to prevent breeding with naturally born animals.

He also said he didn't expect to have any problems with federal regulators after neither the U.S. Department of Agriculture nor the Food and Drug Administration objected to the creation of a genetically-engineered pet fish because it wasn't meant for human consumption

The GloFish, which went on sale in pet stores earlier this year, is a zebra fish implanted with a fluorescent sea anemone gene.

"As long as people don't start eating cats and they don't enter the food chain, then we should be handled like the GloFish," Brodie told the AP.

The genetic-engineered cat is the latest attempt to apply biotechnology to the lucrative pet industry.

In August, Genetic Savings & Clone -- another Californian company -- announced that it had successfully cloned two kittens from a one-year-old female Bengal cat and said it could clone anyone's pet for around $50,000.


Source; CNN.com
_________________
- Tom Carter

"You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf" - Jack Kornfield

[balistic]

Finally, a cat I can blow my nose on!
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brian.prince|light.comp.paint

[Awetopsy]

[Impaler]

Until they genetically engineer cats that sweat barbecue sauce, I don't want anything of it.
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QED, sort of.

[Greensun]

thats just sick
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Rabies up your bunghole

[scallywag]

Yeah man, it's got to be honey-soy for sure...

[Capt. Fred]

the future is cool.
feel like a sci-fi novel.

After allergy-friendly cat, I'm sure it won't be long before you get tiger-striped cats, or cats in whatever colour matches your latest outfit.

Let the the GM lifestyles and GM fashion begin!

I'm still waiting for proper voice recognition and natural-language interfaces, dammit. I want to live to see the day the world resembles what Philip K. Dick had in mind ;)

[Yarik]

And......

-the 666 chip....
-Genetically modified people
( I am not against this as long as it is used only on women to decrease their weight, increase breast size, make a pure blonde/brunette/redhead and make here obedient...)
























LoL, for those of you who too my seriously on the last one relax. I dont like blond hair too much. I dont like skinny chicks... too many bones sticking out and I dont like huge breasts. Size C is the maximum and A is the minimum. And I would not want a wife who is obedient, but one who is prone to compromise (relationships are based on give and take and sharing....)....

[Gort]

I love science. I think this kind of stuff is awesome. I'd take a genetically modified kitty with tiger stripes, fer sure, dude.


_________________
- Tom Carter

"You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf" - Jack Kornfield