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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."
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.
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."
Compared to a several-hundred-pound sow that's pretty damn small. Plus we don't know the growth rate of the animal yet either.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
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.
Pigs are about as smart as a dog, nowhere near as agile or dexterous.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
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.
Topical? Wot, like some kind of oinkment?
They are a little better at video games than dogs.
If it acquires resources on instantiation like a duck, then its a shared_ptr<Duck>
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!
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
Actually the reason for well done pig is they tend to carry parasites that also attack humans. A lot of this was due to feeding them garbage. Pigs will eat anything.