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Chinese Company To Sell Genetically Modified Micro Pigs as Pets (abc.net.au)
An anonymous reader writes: Tyne McConnon from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that a research firm in China plans to"sell its 'micro pig' as a pet after it successfully edited the DNA of the animal to stunt its growth. Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) created the pig, which grows to weigh between 14 and 20 kilograms, by changing the DNA responsible for its growth. The company originally genetically modified the Bama pig breed for research but announced at a Bio Tech Leader summit in China recently their plans to sell it."
inb4 the cow idiot s/cow/pig/-ing his usual line.
Arthur Clarke pointed out decades ago that some kind of mini-elephant would be a great home service animal. With a trunk to work with, it could open refrigerators, pick up the phone, and do other delicate handling operations.
Micro piglets stalk your dungeon
Was there a little pork in the budget?
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
We've seen this scam... sell a piglet as a "micro-pig" and by the time the new pig owner discovers it's actually a full-sized, regular pig, the seller has moved on to a new town.
That's just oinkredible.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
but I do no think it means what you think it means. 20 kilograms is hardly "micro". That's a medium sized dog with very hard feet.
A company spokesman said the animals were expected to live to 15 to 20 years old.
However Dr Brown did say the micro pigs had only been through one reproductive cycle, so its life expectancy was yet to be proven.
I, for one welcome our new micro pig zombie overlords. May they gnaw a thousand ankles.
Quaaack!
heh
Hell, I crap biggern that. Gimmie 700lb Texas feral hogs all the day long! [smack] Yeee Haw!!! [gunshots]
Ethics and morality are only vague concepts that China redefines for profit on an hourly basis.
do the Chinese seem like our analog of the bene tleilax?
I'm sure these Genetically Modified Micro Pigs have a market.
http://metro.co.uk/2007/04/26/...
You are all micro pigs. Say Oooink Oooink you pigs! Pigs all say Oooink
Just how much bacon could you get from one of these?
that might have swine flu
OTOH, you can eat bacon anytime you want.
This is a good solution for the problem that we aren't keen on eating the family dog when it's done and the dog is a lost cause. With a micro pig pet, it would be a crime not to eat him!
I heard the story of grandpa being like 10 year old or less during the war when they had to cook his rabbit friend, now that was heart breaking.
In the immortal words of Stan Lee: "'Nuff said."
I think not...(*poof*)
Paris Hilton already has an order in to add one of these to her collection of purse pets.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
Can it be box trained?
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
Oh wait, they do, that's why you need to overcook anything pig-based. Sounds to me like the next pandemic is brewing in China.
I thought they were working on that.
Do they look like Mr. Garrison ?
I guess the only solution is then to flush the pig down the toilet, thereby breeding with flushed crocodiles and creating the mythical CrocPig genetically modified superanimal, in miniature version.
We turned this into this in a couple of generations of selective breeding. What's the big difference here?
Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
I hear the the model will be human-sized, and only have 2 nipples.
I might be interested when it also glows in the dark. A tiny little glow pig would be awesome. This should be feasible at current levels of technology. Get to it!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Or, you know, Ebola. /s
I want my bonsai kitten!
Funny thing is, most of the common lab rat and mice strains still in use today were originally the product of breeding by hobbyists. so this is just full circle with an animal not so amenable to quick breeding and selection.
make bigger pigs, make bigger plants... and feed the world.
oh, i see. there's more money selling a novelty pet, and all the chinese-made accessories for them, to the 1 percent, than it is to sell cheap food to the rest of us.
kosher.
"Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine No Posessions?'" -- Elvis Costello
"Genetically modified micro pigs".
That's a terrible thing to call a computer programmer, even if they did malicious things and were arrested at the behest of the USA.
This resembles Mr. Nobody. According to the movie the year is 2092 and the Earth is entirely populated by immortal people which can be seen constantly holding their pet stem cell micropigs in their hands.
Mini elephants (about 90cm/3ft tall and about 200kg heavy) existed naturally until about 8000 years ago on the island of Malta. Google for falconeri dwarf elephant. I think the most promising venue would be to search bone remains for reconstructible DNA.
On the other hand, one would expect the chinese to offer genetically engineered mini tigers, pandas and dragons. In response, the japanese would market mini pet Godzilla, not-so-giant squid and pocketable anime girls, genetically engineered with nekomimi, neon hair, neanderthal eyes and fangs.
"BAMA" pigs? They dare mock our LORD PRESIDENT! Nuke China! FUER OBAMA! Murica ueber alles! USA NUMBAH ONE!
Step 1: actually make them micro sized
Step 2: hollow up those bones
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Add some wings and finally get some closure on that damn proverb!
You had me on the pocket anime girls right up to the fangs. No fangs in my pockets please.
Small is 20 Kg? I guess it's all relative.
However they are critically endangered (less than 200 left).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
All other animals are either domesticated or feral animals conditioned by food reward. They are merely pets.
Ogdan Nash put it perfectly. Outside of dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of dog, it is too dark to read.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Goodbye pet pigs, welcome the 1 person household ham.
They need to make pigs where you can peel off the bacon from their hides like bark on birch or cork trees.
Ommmmm. Come here little piggy.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
It never ceases to amaze me what some people think is cute.
I wonder if this sort of resizing could work on humans. If a human develops fully but ends up at half the size, it would work out well for reducing pollution, food demands, traffic jams and all sorts of other full-sized human problems.
You would think that by now they would have nano pigs that are just as cute but eat 1/16 of the food.
Yeah. Let's accomplish some meaningful research.... Peal bacon like bark? That's the ticket...
Ah yes, canines. The animals with "military" compliance.
Here's a hint: All canines are pack animals, if they believe a human is master then they will follow no matter how moronic the command. This is exactly what governments want out of you. Compliant plebes to do as they will. Just follow whatever dumbass directive they tell you. Trust us, you will love it! Fucking hell, people are stupid.
Dogs are the personification of "brainwashed moron".
There was quite a mini pig scam a while back when pot bellied pigs were popular. people paid huge money to but a dwarf pot belly and were left wondering why their baby pig just passed the 400 lb. mark. I had a friend with a pot bellied pig and that sucker learned the sound or smell of the pizza delivery car and would roll onto its back, wiggle its legs and squeal with glee when he heard the delivery car pulling up the long driveway.
they're delicious
Star Trek transporters are just 3d printers.
Only dogs have co-evolved with humans for 25000 years, they are the only species that "understand" humans. They will look where you look. They will look at the object you point to, not at your pointing finger. They are the symbiotic species, friends for humans, set us towards the path of sedentism and later domestication of other plants and animals. Nomadic bands of pre-dog humans kept killing each other. Without dogs acting as early warning systems, humans could never have developed sedentism, even when the fertile lands where hunting and gathering was good.
All other animals are either domesticated or feral animals conditioned by food reward. They are merely pets.
Ogdan Nash put it perfectly. Outside of dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of dog, it is too dark to read.
they're just setting us up. once we grow complacent and soft, they will take away our guns.
Star Trek transporters are just 3d printers.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/ima...
I am convinced that human intelligence is equal to the size of the global population. Shrinking humans will give us the opportunity to reach a population size of 16 billion without anymore environmental damage. At 16 billion we may finally become an intelligent species.
I'd hate to be overrun by House Hippos. :(
Nice summary, it's a new perspective to me.