Ewe Must Be Having A Laugh: Scientists Invent Glow-In-The-Dark Sheep

Ever wanted to find your Uggs in the dark? Well it could become a lot easier in the future because according to reports today, scientists at the Animal Reproduction Institute of Uruguay have grown some glow-in-the-dark sheep. Yes, you read that right.

The Register reports that the boffins implanted a glow-in-the-dark gene from a jellyfish into nine lambs. The lambs were perfectly healthy and, according to the scientists, they grew up no different to any other sheep. They’re completely normal. Well, y’know, aside from the fact that they glow a greenish colour when their skin is exposed to ultraviolet light.

“We did not use a protein of medical interest or to help with a particular medicine because we wanted to fine-tune the technique. We used the green protein because the colour is easily identifiable in the sheep’s tissues,” said Alejo Menchaca, the head of the research team.

“They [the sheep] are out in the field as any other sheep, but in better conditions, not the traditional breeding system. They are well looked after, well fed and very much loved,” he added.

One of the glow-in-the-dark sheep

Before you start placing an order for your very own glow-in-the-dark lamb we should probably tell you that you’ll be waiting a LONG time for it.

“The technique is complex and demands much work, which is one of the limiting factors. So despite the global interest and demand it is still a slow process,” said Mr Menchaca.

“Our focus is generating knowledge and making it public so the scientific community can be informed and help in the long run march to generate tools so humans can live better. We’re not out in the market to sell technology,” he added.

Surprisingly these sheep aren’t the only strange animals to be manufactured over the years. Believe it or not pocket-sized monkeys and day-glo cats have also made appearances around the world.