Originally published November 4 2012
Frankenscientists create GM 'supersniffer' mice with superpower senses
by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) The latest excuse genetic butchers have come up with to try to legitimize their lust for tampering with the genomes of animals is arguably one of the most ridiculous reasons we have heard yet. According to the U.K.'s Guardian, researchers from Hunter College in New York have genetically modified the genomes of mice for the purpose of -- get this -- sniffing out old landmines that might be hiding in fields from previous wars.
Even though scientists have already figured out a way of teaching natural rats to sniff out the explosive chemicals used in landmines by taking advantage of their existing unique olfactory abilities, this is apparently not enough for Charlotte D'Hulst and her colleagues from Hunter College. This team decided it was appropriate to splice and dice mice's olfactory bulbs for the purpose of giving them superpower-type abilities to sniff out TNT, the main explosive chemical used in landmines.
The GM mice, known as "MouSensors," contain up to 250 times the natural amount of a certain type of sensory nerve in their noses, which make them up to 500 times more able to sniff out DNT, another type of explosives chemical that smells similar to TNT. The idea, of course, was to greatly improve these mice's existing ability to sniff out landmines, and basically turn them into mutant "supersniffers."
Breeding GM animals to turn them into programmable robots
Presented at the recent annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans, the findings point to a future in which animals will be modified in all sorts of unnatural ways to perform menial and even relatively unnecessary tasks. And perhaps one of the most frightening aspects of this ongoing agenda is the fact that "Frankenscientists" appear ready to begin microchipping GM animals with remote sensors to make them robotically transmit various data to third-party sources.
"We are thinking along the lines of implanting a chip under the skin of these animals that would wirelessly report back to a computer when the animals' behavior is changing upon being triggered by a TNT landmine," said D'Hulst about the research. "If we have to put a time on [testing in the field], we hope it will be within five years."
Long-term repercussions of genetically tampering with animals still unknown
The unintended consequences of such modifications; however, have not yet been adequately studied, which is typically the case with these types of outlandish GM experiments. One major concern is that the concentrated amount of neural sensors in the mice's olfactory bulbs, for instance, will cause the creatures to experience hypersensitivity in response to even the slightest hints of TNT, triggering a seizure or other serious abnormalities.
A similar untested GM experiment on mice also took place back in 2007, when scientists bred "supermice" with abnormal physical abilities. These "Frankenmice" were designed to be capable of running nonstop for several hours at a rate of about 66 feet per minute, as well as eat 60 percent more food and live a much longer life compared to normal mice. That experiment was extrapolated as a template for the potential future modifications of human beings in the same way. (http://www.independent.co.uk)
Sources for this article include:
http://www.guardian.co.uk
http://www.smh.com.au
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