I remember reading about this several years ago. But after talking about BioArt last week it got me thinking about ANDi, the monkey who was genetically implanted with jellyfish DNA back in 2001. At the time he was the first of his kind to survive, similar to Dolly the cloned sheep. Several cells were implanted with the jellyfish DNA, which is deemed beneficial due to the fact that jellyfish exhibit florescence. Given our evolutional proximity to monkeys over walking fish, the jellyfish DNA is suppose to help scientist track and learn about disease. Three of the cells grew into monkeys, two of which glowed florescent under black light and didn't survive for whatever reason. The third, ANDi, did survive (didn't glow though) and was then set to be infected with diseases for study! So much for amazement. It's hard to cheer the advancements of science when it's coupled with the grim realities of scientific research. Which baffles me to begin with. Sure we eradicated small pox, but diseases live; are alive; they're evolving too (super Tuberculosis!?) I'm not saying that learning about and curing disease is not worthwhile. Or that a monkey with glowing skin won't help humanity find the cure to diseases like HIV. Who knows? Humans may have created HIV. Or like super TB, through antibiotics, and maybe even hand soap, simply helped diseases to become stronger. It's a constant; disease. While experimental research on human patients with fatal diseases may merit a foundation, research on monkeys does not. But it's not to say that a respect for all life should not be the ideal from which to look at these matters. Getting back to the topic, it seems Bioart brings these matters into discussion, or even into view. It's no wonder why a University like Standford would want to promote Bioart, they're one of the leading institutions of stem cell research.
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/01/11/green.monkey.02/
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