A QUINTET of glowing monkeys threatens to engulf scientists in a new storm of controversy over the ethics of animal experiments and genetic engineering.
The five marmosets carry a fluorescent protein gene that causes their skin to glow under ultraviolet light. Most dramatically, the scientists were able to show that the gene could be inherited by offspring.
The Japanese breakthrough opens up the prospect for the first time of monkeys being used – like mice – as research tools for the study of numerous human diseases.
But it also raises major ethical concerns about the use of primates in animal experiments, and scientists tiptoeing towards a “brave new world” of genetically modified humans.
Dr David King, from the group Human Genetics Alert, said: “I’m worried that these steps are being taken without any overall public discussion about whether we want to go down that road.
“We may find ourselves gradually drifting towards the genetic engineering of human beings.”
