Scientists used trangenesis to create neon-green glowing rabbits, the strange experiment could help develop future medicine.
The team injected a "fluorescent protein from jellyfish DNA" into the embryo of the pregnant mother rabbit and then reinserted it, a University of Hawaii press release reported.
When the litter was born, two of the eight babies exhibited the glowing green characteristic.
The green florescent glow is only visible under a black light, in regular lighting they look just like their fluffy-white litter mates.
The experiment shows the "green gene" was incorporate into the rabbit's genetic makeup.
"These rabbits are like a light bulb glowing, like an LED light all over their body. And on top of it, their fur is beginning to grow and the greenness is shining right through their fur. It's so intense," biogenesis researcher Dr. Stefan Moisyadi told KHON 2 News.
The animals are not likely to suffer any health repercussions from the genetic fluorescence.
"They live just as long as normal animals do. In mice, I can tell you that from mice, and they show no ill effects," Dr. Moisyadi said. "The green is only a marker to show that's it's working easily."
The dyes are similar to what would be used in an X-Ray or MRI.
The researchers hope to conduct the same experiment with larger animals.
"Sheep, cows, and even pigs," Dr. Moisyadi said. "The benefits in doing it in large animals is to create bio-reactors that basically produce pharmaceuticals that can be made a lot cheaper."
Besides helping with the development of certain medicines, the system could also teach scientists more about genetics, which may lead to better treatments and prevention for genetic disorder, KHON 2 reported.
The research was conducted in a Turkish University using a system developed at the University of Hawaii. There is a great deal of controversy surrounding bringing the experiment to America.
"At home, there is this hysteria that transgenic animals should not be used for anything," Dr. Moisyadi said.
"..There is an eventual benefit for the human race in this. And if we don't do it in these first-world countries, where will we do it?" He said.
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