Frankenstein's Cat
Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts
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Dolly the Sheep was just the start. Meet the high-tech menagerie of the near future, as scientists reinvent the animal kingdom
From the petri dish to the pet shop, meet the high-tech menagerie of the near future, as humans reinvent the animal kingdom
Fluorescent fish that glow near pollution. Dolphins with prosthetic fins. Robot-armoured beetles that military handlers can send on spy missions. Beloved pet pigs resurrected from DNA. Scientists have already begun to create these high-tech hybrids to serve human whims and needs. What if a cow could be engineered to no longer feel pain – should we design a herd that would assuage our guilt over eating meat?
Acclaimed science writer Emily Anthes travels round the globe to meet the fauna of the future, from the Scottish birthplace of Dolly the sheep and other clones to a ‘pharm’ for cancer-fighting chickens. Frankenstein’s Cat is an eye-opening exploration of weird science – and how we are playing god in the animal world.
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Animals are fascinating if reluctant soldiers in the biotech revolution, writes journalist Anthes (Instant Egghead Guide: The Mind) in this witty and thought-provoking book. Scientists, it turns out, have produced cyborg cockroaches, genetically altered mice whose brains we can control, and goats that express commercial drugs in their milk. Bizarre, to be sure, but undoubtedly beneficial: animals play a crucial role in the development of myriad products that make life better for humans. But what about the creatures' quality of life? Many decry the use of animals in experiments (though Anthes points out that Americans spend $300 billion "every year eating animal flesh"), yet even Charles Darwin, a staunch opponent of animal cruelty, refused to "condemn invasive animal research." Still, that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to make that invasion less intrusive. Anthes argues that we are making our way through the ethical thicket. Ever-tinier microprocessors, receivers, and batteries let us tag and track "an ever-expanding menagerie of marine and terrestrial species," from seals to bees and the currents and winds they travel on. Anthes is optimistic we will "use our scientific superpowers wisely" to make life better for both the "creatures that live in scientific labs and those that run them."
