Taiwanese stem cell researchers breed glowing pigs

Taiwanese researchers today said they had bred three small pigs with a fluorescent material in a move they hoped would benefit the island’s stem cell research effort.

The fluorescent pigs are green, including their hearts and internal organs, said Wu Shinn-Chih, assistant professor of animal science at the prestigious National Taiwan University.

From the outside, the pigs appear to be bathed in a light green tint, particularly their eyes, mouths and knuckles.

Wu said the pigs were bred by injecting their embryos with fluorescent green protein taken from jelly fish.

Pigs are commonly used to study human diseases, and Wu believes his technique will help researchers monitor tissue changes over time.

He said fluorescent cells would show up during stem cell treatment of diseased organs, allowing physicians to monitor the healing progress.

Last year, another team of Taiwanese researchers claimed they developed an alternative to laboratory mice for testing new medicines – using fluorescent fish to show the impact of experimental drugs on cancerous tumours.