Get your hypoallerginic kitties!
 

Yes, science has come up with sneeze-free kitties!

Check it out here!

They are not genitically modified, in case you were wondering....

Sounds like a condom.

Don't they already make pussy condoms...?

Holy crap! GD and I just saw a thing on this on Nova last night. RNAi is going to revolutionize the world!

Um, the title says "Genetically Modified Cats for Sale" :confused:

Gene silencing is an interesting bit of science. Basically, rather than cutting genes out or modifying genes, instead it takes advantage of a strange quirk in cellular self-defense. Basically, if you insert a gene that's the combination of an existing gene + its mirror image (a common structure of viruses), there's a built in mechanism that identifies that mirror image gene as faulty and goes about destroying the product of BOTH the introduced double gene and the original gene. So it's a relatively non-invasive way of shutting of a single gene without major genetic manipulation.

I would assume that messing with the genetic structure of a lifeform- no matter how non-invasive- is still genetic modification.

If there is a market for the cats- great- but the title said genetically modified, then the OP says they are not genetically modified- so I was wondering about the contradiction.

I suppose it depends on how it's accomplished. For example, they've used gene silencing experimentally to treat macular degeneration by simply injecting a mirrored version of a vein-production gene into the eye. They aren't modifying genes, simply introducing an outside gene to stimulate a natural cellular response.

Thank you for turning the wikipedia goobledegook into something understandable. Still I weep for all the allergenic kitties out there who still need a home - and sniffle a bit too since I have a cat allergy.

I read about this in the news register, and looked for an article to post here. In the Register, the spicifically said they were not genetically modified, and I didn't notice the headline.

I'm not sure how all of that works, but like GD pointed out, "Gene Splicing" and "Gene Manipulation" are quite different. Gene splicing is much more like cross breading, which has been going on for thousands of years. We wouldn't have all the thousands of breads of cats, dogs, horses, or cattle otherwise. Not to mention the ass.

Did you see the last line in the article?


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.
Genetic Savings & Clone ? Cute.....

One day, all kitties will be hypoallergenic

Not if they don't allow them to reproduce

Here is how it works. It's a breeding program. Old school, really. They gene sequenced the cats and bred them accordingly. No genetic manipulation.

Not RNAi. Oh well.

If the don't reproduce with other non-hypos, they'll go back to being dander cats most likely anyway.

Hey, we can start a whole new set of nick names for these cats now! Cool, new verbage!!

Thanks CP, I knew I'd heard that.

However it's accomplished ... if the first kitties are available in 2007 ... I should be able to visit €uro and N.A.'s place again in, oh, about 2013 I think.

You have $24,000 to give them to accomplish this?

Is that per cat???

That's per 6 cats (which is the smallest unit of cat that I believe Lisa would be working with)

Of course, cats can live to 20-something and I just got a new kitten. So, 2030 would be safe.