Interesting facts about genetic engineering. Interesting facts about genetic engineering Genetic engineering in microbiology and virology

Every living organism consists of cells: from bacteria to higher mammals. Higher organisms consist of organs, organs consist of tissues, tissues consist of cells. All properties of any organism are determined by its genome, which is located in a cell (in any of the cells of a given organism).

According to some data, the genomes of the common fly and humans are three-quarters the same. There is nothing surprising about this. The basis of genes - DNA - carries all the information about the construction of all proteins and the biochemistry of a given organism, and apparently not so much is allocated to the “appearance”, size and weight of the specimen. In short, Darwin is absolutely right, and evolution at a certain key stage connects both flies and humans. And this does not contradict religion at all, since it only affirms the fact of the creation of life by God, but does not in any way regulate the technology itself.

Genetic and cellular engineering (this is one concept) deals with the relationship between the structure of DNA and the hereditary properties of organisms. Of course, she is armed with methods that previously, for example, in the time of Mendel, they did not even dare to dream of.

The method of cell engineering at the present stage consists in the fact that specialists obtain DNA fragments from various organisms and integrate them into the DNA of the organism chosen as the object of study. This method, in the language of scientists who love technical terms, is called recombinant DNA expression. Restriction enzymes are used as a tool - special bacterial enzymes that can break down DNA. They are called figuratively - biological knives.

Having received the desired gene (transgene), assembled from the mentioned fragments, it is inserted into what is called a vector, and transferred into a cell, where it replicates (multiplies) independently or after combining with the “native” chromosome. Here, great difficulties arise with the equipment, since the material must be forcibly introduced into the microscopic cell, but without violating its integrity. There are many very sophisticated methods for this, since this cannot be done in natural ways. Of course, there is no mysticism here, evolution simply did not provide for anything like this; on the contrary, it put a bunch of obstacles within the framework

The goal of cellular engineering is to obtain medicines, develop high-quality varieties of cultivated plants, create new breeds of animals, and, as a culmination, rid our civilization of all diseases. Those who argue (I don’t want to call them obscurantists) should keep in mind that synthetic insulin alone has saved and is saving millions of diabetics and extending their lives by decades!

Concerns about it date back to its birth in 1972, when P. Berg's group (USA) synthesized the first recombinant DNA from the oncogenic monkey virus SV40 and E. coli. The latter is something a person cannot live without. And it contains a virus that causes cancer. Scientists were literally scared and did not even continue their work at that moment. A long period began of placing research under the strictest state control, comparable to control over work on nuclear weapons.

Fortunately, the complexity and cost of biological gene work is comparable in complexity and cost to atomic research, and is therefore beyond the reach of potential terrorists.

In reality, cellular engineering is a double-edged sword - it can give a person as many years of life as he wants, but it can also sow terrible misfortunes for all living things. Don’t argue, the opposite has not been proven, but the “price of the issue” is known. It all depends on whose clean or dirty hands cell engineering is in. And for objective reasons it can neither be banned nor pushed forward. The development of science is subject to its own internal laws.

The first article in this series - about American folk myths about genetically modified plants - can be read.

Myth: Medical biotechnology can only benefit people.

Fact: In 2005, it was planned to spend more than $5 billion on biotechnological products and services in the field of veterinary medicine in the United States. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 105 licenses have been issued for various types of animal biotechnology products. These are veterinary vaccines, biological products and diagnostic tools. Investments in scientific research in this area amount to more than $400 million annually. 18 billion dollars are spent annually on maintaining health and treating sick animals, of which 2.8 billion are spent on biotechnological products.

Myth: Genetic engineering and cloning of animals are from the realm of science fiction, a matter of the distant future.

Fact: The first living creatures obtained using genetic engineering - GloFish ornamental fish - appeared on the market in January 2004. They were implanted with the sea anemone gene, and if you observe these fish in the dark, they fluoresce with a bright red light. The first pet that was cloned to order - a cat genetically identical to the deceased prototype - “returned” to its owner in December 2004. Buying a fish glowing green or red is affordable for everyone; Cloning a cat is a pleasure for $50,000. Various biotech companies have cloned hundreds of cattle, but neither meat nor dairy products from these animals have yet reached the market. And not only cattle, but also sheep, pigs, mice, rabbits, horses, rats, mules, cats - all these animals have been successfully cloned in the laboratory.

Myth: There is no benefit to pets from biotechnology.

Myth: Clones are different from normal animals.

Fact: Studies have shown that clone animals eat, drink and behave in exactly the same way as ordinary animals.

Myth: There is no benefit for domesticated animals from biotechnology.

Fact: Biotechnologists are constantly creating new methods for improving animal health and increasing the productivity of poultry and livestock. These improved techniques make it possible to better detect, treat and prevent diseases and other problems in animals. Genetically modified feed crops contain more nutrients and are easier to digest, improve the quality of feed and reduce the cost of keeping livestock. Just like the long-established artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization, cloning can significantly improve the methods of breeding new breeds, reduce the risk of hereditary diseases and improve the health of animals.

Myth: Wild animals are definitely not threatened by cloning technology. Why do they need it?

Fact: Around the world, researchers are using cloning technology to save endangered species. Over the past four years, scientists have successfully cloned at least three species of endangered animals: the European mouflon and the wild gaur and banteng bulls. You can see a cloned banteng at the San Diego Zoo, California (in the photo taken in January 2004, the bull named Yahawa is 8 months old). Several zoos and endangered species conservation organizations, including the Zoological Society of London and zoos in San Diego and Cincinnati, have created so-called “frozen zoos,” or cryobanks in which samples of tissue and eggs from endangered bird species are stored at extremely low temperatures. , mammals and reptiles.

Myth: Genetic engineering can contribute to outbreaks of bird flu, mad cow disease, and West Nile virus, which can subsequently be transmitted from animals to humans.

Fact: Diseases such as bird flu or mad cow disease have nothing to do with genetic engineering. Biotechnologists around the world are working very intensively to create vaccines against various infectious diseases. And South Korean scientists have used genetic engineering to create a breed of cows whose bodies do not synthesize prions - proteins whose altered form causes mad cow disease. Work is also being carried out on the biological control of mosquitoes - carriers of malaria and other blood-borne diseases.

Myth: Transplanting animal organs to humans is nothing more than fiction.

Fact: The idea of ​​xenotransplantation - the transplantation of organs from one species of animal to another - has not allowed scientists to sleep peacefully for decades. In 1984, in one of the American clinics, a baboon heart was implanted into a patient, which worked for 20 days. Today, doctors regularly use pig heart valves to transplant them into humans, and also transplant skin from these animals into people suffering from burns. Several groups of researchers in different countries are working to create genetically modified pigs, whose organs, when transplanted into a person, will not be rejected by his immune system.

Myth: By applying biotechnology methods to animals, we are only using them.

Fact: The use of biotechnology methods will only improve the health and well-being of animals. The health of pets will significantly improve from the use of various vaccines, for example against rabies, and additional research and diagnostics will help to identify, for example, feline HIV. Farm animals will not be left out either. Biotechnology methods will help increase the number of herds and significantly improve the health of the entire herd, while eliminating hereditary diseases. Genetically modified animals will be less sick - for example, the first few cows resistant to mastitis have recently been produced. Artificial insemination and growing embryos in vitro will help restore the decline of endangered wild species.

Myth: Meat, milk and eggs obtained from cloned or genetically modified animals are hazardous to health.

Fact: Animals raised using biotechnology, if they differ from ordinary animals, are for the better: cloning and genetic engineering are just another tool for breeding new breeds, and people have been doing this unconsciously for thousands of years and based on data for about a hundred years genetics. Scientists and technicians take much better care of experimental animals than a farmer takes care of his herd of conventional animals (if only because raising a single genetically modified cow or goat is thousands of times more expensive and difficult than a regular one). Veterinarians and nutritionists carefully monitor them from birth and monitor subsequent growth and development. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regularly and carefully inspect facilities that house artificial animals.

Several groups of scientists in different countries examined the meat and milk of cloned animals for hundreds of indicators and found no differences from the meat and milk of animals conceived in the usual way.

Myth: Cloned animals have mortality rates at birth that far exceed those of normal, traditional animals.

Fact: Indeed, when cloning or producing genetically modified animals, many embryos turn out to be non-viable, and the mortality rate during childbirth is higher than with conventional animal breeding. But even with the usual methods of breeding new breeds, only those few animals that meet the requirements of the breeders are left alive, and the rest are used for meat. And any farm animal will sooner or later end up in a pan...

Myth: The health of clones is much worse than that of ordinary animals.

Fact: In general, the health status of clones and traditional animals is no different - this has been proven by ten years of research, including those conducted by the US National Academy of Sciences.

Myth: Cloning animals can lead to unpredictable consequences.

Fact: The first research in the field of animal cloning began in the 1970s. For more than 30 years, the National Academy of Sciences and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analyzed the results of research from more than 40 groups of scientists working in the field. In many cases, several generations of animals born conventionally from cloned ancestors have been studied. The researchers did not find any differences from ordinary animals. Reports of the US National Academy of Sciences published in 2002 and 2004.

Myth: If genetically modified animals are released into the wild, they can pose a danger to wild animals and the environment.

Fact: Genetic modification is (and will continue to be) applied to farm and domestic animals only. The likelihood that such animals will end up in the wild themselves is negligible. However, if a hypoallergenic cat or mastitis-resistant cow runs away from its owner, it will not pose any danger to wild animals or the environment. In general, most domestic animals (with the possible exception of cats and dogs) are not adapted to life in the wild. Even if a transgenic sheep with particularly thick hair manages to survive in the mountains and have children with a wild mountain goat, the adaptability to the environment of such hybrids will be lower than that of their wild relatives. Some concerns include, for example, transgenic salmon and many other species of fish that grow ten times faster than normal fish of the same species. But even if such salmon swim out to sea and interbreed with wild ones, both they themselves and their descendants will not be able to withstand competition with ordinary fish, which require tens of times less food. And in the worst case scenario, another species of fish will appear in the sea - to the delight of the fishermen.

Myth: During research, animals are simply abused.

Fact: In fact, everything is completely different. Animal clones and animals used in genetic engineering are, as veterinarians have observed, cared for with special care. Unfortunately, animal activist groups often mistakenly believe that all laboratory animals are mistreated and that computer models of animals can replace real animals in research. Of course, computer models now occupy an important place in medical research, but wider research invariably requires live models. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institutes of Health regularly inspect facilities where research is conducted. In recent years, animal activist groups have increasingly carried out violent acts such as vandalism, data theft, harassment and beating of scientists, including death threats against them and their families. Given these facts and the nature of the threats, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers the actions of such activist groups to be domestic terrorist threats. In response, measures are being taken to protect biomedical research data. In 1992, the US Congress considered additional amendments to the law that impose large monetary fines for crimes against such institutions if the amount of damage caused by them is 10 thousand US dollars or more. Particularly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, individual states are seeking to increase control over the actions of activists and are taking additional stringent legislative measures.

Myth: The well-known sheep Dolly was sickly and died prematurely because she was cloned.

Fact: In fact, Dolly lived even longer than sheep usually live, and died at an old age due to the development of arthritis. The death was due to normal old age and had nothing to do with the fact that she was cloned. Some opponents of cloning continue to argue that Dolly had shortened telomeres - structures at the ends of chromosomes that determine the number of cell divisions and most likely affect life expectancy. However, such a shortening was found in only one early study. These data were not confirmed either by further studying the cells of Dolly herself or in other cloned animals. Additional studies have shown that cloned animals are no different from normal animals in terms of telomere structure.

Translated by Alexander Mikhailov, “Encyclopedia of Misconceptions”
Online magazine “Commercial Biotechnology”

Ever since scientists succeeded in cloning a sheep, debates about the consequences of human intervention in nature have not subsided in the world. On store shelves there are smooth, even apples, which owe their ideal shape to the genes of one northern sea fish; potatoes themselves kill Colorado potato beetles. It is unknown for what purpose, but scientists from South Korea managed to breed cats that glow red. True, this does not always happen, but only when an ultraviolet beam is directed at a cat placed in a dark room.

Undoubtedly, more benefit will come from kids who have inherited wool from a modified mother with silkworm genes. Goat wool has always been highly valued, and thanks to the efforts of Professor Randy Lewis from the University of Wyoming, it will find use in a variety of areas.

A new type of salmon will soon appear on the shelves of American supermarkets. This fish can undoubtedly be called super-salmon, because it is twice the size of a regular salmon. Scientists from the Aqua Bounty company introduced into the fish the genes of Chinook salmon, which grows faster than usual, and bottom-dwelling fish - eelpout, which is able to gain weight throughout the year. The US Food and Drug Administration has declared the new salmon not only safe, but also beneficial for humans.

Caring about people's health, scientists from India conducted a series of experiments on growing bananas that help cure hepatitis B. In addition to bananas, carrots, lettuce, potatoes and even tobacco leaves are instilled with beneficial properties. For many years now, doctors and scientists around the world have been searching for a universal cure for cancer. Dr. Helen Sang from the UK was able to breed chickens with human DNA. Eggs from such chickens contain special proteins that, when eaten, will help cure skin cancer.

It is no secret that pigs and calves are raised on special eco-farms, whose organs are already saving the lives of many people. Parts of the heart are taken from pigs, from which bioprostheses for human hearts are made, and the upper lining of the liver is taken from calves. Healthy animals raised without genetic intervention are suitable for this. Scientists have gone even further and are trying to grow organs in the body of animals that can be completely transplanted into people. To prevent tissue rejection, special genes are introduced into pigs. A successful experiment has already been carried out in transplanting a mouse pancreas grown in the body of a rat. This is being done by the Scottish scientific laboratory that introduced the famous Dolly the sheep to the world.

The military department could not miss such a chance and not use the scientists’ achievements for its own needs. A universal soldier, a super-strong and resilient person is the dream of any army in the world. Gene experiments on humans are prohibited by the UN Convention, but how can this stop the military? No one will openly declare their successes and achievements in producing a superman. More than $40 million was allocated for research alone in 2013. This amount should cover scientific research in the field of influence on the nervous system and human psyche. If these experiments are successful, living zombies subject to someone else's will will become a reality! And all this can be achieved with the help of genetic engineering. It's getting scary.

You've most likely heard of glow-in-the-dark cats created in South Korea. These are genetically modified cats with luminescent pigmentation in their skin, which allows them to glow red under ultraviolet light. The scientists then cloned them, and they successfully passed on the fluorescent gene to the next generation of cat clones. Whether this is for the better or for the worse is not yet known, but one thing is clear - genetic engineering is firmly established, and will develop in the future, which leads to questions: when will we realize that we have gone too far? What is the line that separates scientific progress from irreversible changes in the DNA of a living being?

If this seems unlikely to you, then the ten amazing examples of genetic engineering presented below will convince you otherwise.

10. Spider goats

The web is used for approximately one and a half million purposes, and this number is growing every day. Due to its incredible strength relative to its size, it has been tested for use in bulletproof vests, artificial tendons, bandages, and even computer chips and fiber optic cables for surgery. However, getting enough web requires tens of thousands of spiders and a long wait time, not to mention that spiders tend to kill other spiders in their territory, so they can't be bred the same way as, say, bees.

So scientists turned their attention to goats, the only animals in the world that could benefit from adding spider DNA to their DNA. Professor Randy Lewis, from the University of Wyoming, has isolated the genes that allow spiders to produce the frame thread of a web, or the strongest type of web that spiders use to build their webs (most spiders produce six different types of threads). He then combined these genes with those responsible for milk production in goats. He then mated a goat with the altered genes several times, resulting in seven kids, three of which inherited the gene responsible for producing webs.

All that remains now is to milk goats and filter out cobwebs, and maybe occasionally fight crime. Professor Lewis is no stranger to irony - his office is covered with Spider-Man posters.

9. Singing Mice


In most cases, scientists conduct experiments for some purpose. However, in some cases, they simply inject a bunch of genes into mice and wait for the results. This is how they bred a mouse that chirps like a bird. This result came from one of the studies of the Evolved Mouse Project, a Japanese research project that takes a crude approach to genetic engineering - they modify mice, let them reproduce, and record the results.

One fine morning, while checking on a new litter of mice, they discovered that one mouse was “singing like a bird.” Encouraged by the result, they focused their attention on this mouse and now have a hundred similar specimens at their disposal. They also noticed something else interesting: when normal mice grew up with singing mice, they began to use different sounds and tones, similar to the dialect used by people. Below is a video of one of these mice.

What can singing mice be used for? Who knows. But the goal of the project is to artificially accelerate evolution, and this acceleration is at least gaining strange momentum. Professor Takeshi Yagi also claims that they have a mouse "with short limbs and a tail, similar to a dachshund." It's all strange.

8. Super Salmon


This example is likely to appear in supermarkets quite soon: genetically modified Atlantic salmon, designed specifically to be twice the size of normal salmon and, in addition, to do so in half the time of normal salmon. There are two changes in the DNA of this AquaBounty salmon, called AquaAdvantage salmon: the first is a gene from Chinook salmon, which is not consumed as widely as Atlantic salmon, but which nevertheless grows much faster in at a young age.

The second change is the gene for the eelpout, a moray eel-like bottom-dwelling fish that grows all year round - while salmon usually grow only in the summer. The result is an ever-growing salmon that is at the top of the list of genetically modified animals approved for human consumption. By the way, the US Food and Drug Administration already approved it in December last year.

7. Banana vaccines


In 2007, an Indian team of scientists published their research into creating a type of banana that would vaccinate people against hepatitis B. The team also successfully modified carrots, lettuce, potatoes and tobacco to contain vaccines, but they said bananas are the most reliable transport system.

The vaccine works as follows: a weakened version of the virus or microbe is injected into a person. The injected virus or microbe is not strong enough to make you sick, but it is enough to cause your body to start producing antibodies. These antibodies can protect you if a strong variant of the virus tries to enter your body.

But there are many reasons why vaccines can be useless or even harmful, ranging from allergic reactions to the fact that they may simply not work. So why is it recommended to get a flu shot every year? This is because viruses adapt to the vaccine, which means that new types of modified bananas will need to be constantly developed to keep up with the race of genetic modifications of the virus. So what if you don't want the vaccine? It’s easy to prevent a trip to the doctor, but it’s more difficult to avoid genetically modified products getting onto your table, given that not all GMO products are required to bear the appropriate labels.

6. Eco-friendly pigs


Sometimes Mother Nature seems to deliberately play dirty tricks on us. To begin with, she put all the meat into animals that could escape from us. She then turned these animals into environmental polluters. Fortunately, at this moment science comes to our aid. She helped us invent "green pigs" (Enviropig) - pigs genetically modified specifically to absorb more phytic acid, which in turn reduces the amount of phosphorus waste the pigs excrete.

The goal is to reduce phosphorus pollution that comes from spreading hog manure on the ground - one of the many ways hog farms deal with excess hog waste. Excess phosphorus in regular pig manure accumulates in the soil and leaches into nearby water sources, which is a problem. Due to the extra phosphorus in the water, the algae grows at an increased rate, taking all the oxygen out of the water and thus depriving all the fish of the oxygen they need.

During the project, 10 generations of “green pigs” were bred, but in 2012 they stopped funding it.

5. Medicines based on chicken eggs


If a person has cancer, they can eventually cure it by eating more eggs. But not just any eggs, but eggs containing human genes. British researcher Helen Sang has engineered chickens with human DNA that contains proteins that can fight skin cancer.

When hens lay eggs, half of the normal protein that makes up egg whites will contain drug proteins used in cancer treatment. These medications can be isolated and given to patients. The idea is that making drugs this way will be much cheaper and more efficient, and won't require the expensive bioreactors that are currently the industry standard.

This system has many potential benefits, but some people have raised questions about whether chickens used to make drugs would be classified as "medical equipment" or "animals" because it would allow manufacturers to circumvent human rights laws. animals.

4. Humanized cow's milk


Apparently humanized chickens were in short supply, so scientists in China have already injected human genes into more than 200 cows in an attempt to get them to produce human breast milk. And the most interesting thing is that it worked. According to lead researcher Ning Li, all 200 cows are currently producing milk identical to that produced by lactating women.

Their method involved cloning human genes and mixing them with DNA from cow fetuses. They plan to develop a genetically modified baby food alternative that can be given to newborns, but people are concerned about the safety of feeding genetically modified breast milk to newborns.

3. Scorpion cabbage


The scorpion Androctonus australis is one of the most dangerous scorpions in the world. In strength, its venom is as toxic as that of the black mamba, and can cause tissue damage and bleeding, not to mention the deaths of several people a year. On the other hand we have cabbage - a vegetable that goes into soup and from which sauerkraut is made. In 2002, researchers from the College of Life Sciences in Beijing combined the two and declared the resulting product safe for human consumption.

They specifically isolated a special toxin from scorpion venom and altered the cabbage genome so that it produced the toxin as the vegetable grew. But why did they need to create a poisonous vegetable? Apparently the toxin they used AaIT is only poisonous to insects and is harmless to humans. In other words, it acts as a built-in pesticide, so that when an insect like a caterpillar tries to eat the cabbage, it will immediately become paralyzed and then go into spasms so severe that it will die of convulsions.

The only concern is the fact that the genetic composition of the organism changes with each subsequent generation. If the cabbage genome already contains poisonous genes, how long will it be before the genes mutate into something that is truly toxic to humans?

2. Pigs with human organs


Probably, the furthest people who tried to cross the human and animal genomes were several individual researchers who began breeding pigs with organs ready for transplantation into humans. Xenotransplantation, or the transplantation of organs from other species into humans, remained an unsolved problem due to a specific enzyme produced by pigs that was rejected by the human body.

Randall Prather, a researcher at the University of Missouri, cloned four pigs that lacked the gene responsible for producing this enzyme. The Scottish company that successfully cloned Dolly the sheep has also successfully cloned five pigs that also lack the gene.
It is possible that in the near future such genetically modified pigs will be raised as organ factories. Another possibility is that real human organs will be grown inside pigs. This research is still controversial, but rat pancreas has already been grown inside a mouse.

1. Darpa Super Soldiers


The US Department of Defense's DARPA has been interested in the human genome for years, and as you might expect from a company that has created 99 percent of the world's deadly robots, their interest is not limited to educational purposes. Getting around the ban on creating human hybrid embryos is quite difficult, however, they are experimenting with different ways to create “super soldiers”, deepening their research into the human genome.

In the budget planned for 2013, one of the projects was allocated $44.5 million. The money was allocated to develop "biological systems that are able to cross multiple facets of the biological architecture of the human body and its function, from the molecular level to the genetic level." The goal of the project is to create soldiers with super capabilities for combat.

However, they have another project up their sleeve that is actually downright terrifying: their Human Assisted Neural Devices program aims to “determine whether networks of neurons can be differentially modulated using optogenetic neurostimulation in animals.” . Optogenetics is a dark branch of neuroscience that is used to “manipulate neuronal activity and control animal behavior.”

The budget also states that they hope to have a working demonstration of this technology on a "lower primate" as early as this year, which is evidence that they are already far along. This definitely suggests that this technology will later be used to create super soldiers or human zombies.

Incredible facts

Genetic modification of plants and animals has become increasingly controversial in recent years as the technology becomes more accessible to scientists. Despite the potential dangers of some changes, science continues to test and produce some amazingly new organisms. Below are 10 of the strangest ones.

10. Glowing fish (GloFish)

This fish is the first genetically modified organism to become available as a pet. This is a regular zebrafish that has had some bioluminescent jellyfish genetic information added to its DNA. Initially, the creation of such fish was planned to provide a signal system for pollution, however, with the addition of flowers, it became clear that the fish were quite viable in order to “offer themselves” to the pet market. They first appeared in December 2003 in the USA.

9. Apple - grapes

This fruit is a relatively new fruit that is a genetic hybrid of an apple and a grape. The fruit has the size of an apple, but the texture of a grape, and tastes like a combination of both. Initially, the creation of this fruit meant providing third world countries with a larger dose of vitamin C. Most of the funds for its development were allocated by UNICEF.

8. Giant raisins

It is a type of ordinary raisin that has been genetically modified and now grows to enormous sizes. Giant raisins were developed by the National Institute of Genetics of Japan due to the Japanese love of large fruits and the popularity of Western foods such as raisins. The texture and taste of the fruit are the same as those of the genetic parents.

7. Cork - rubber cork tree

The cork tree has long been known for its use in making wine stoppers, although some manufacturers prefer plastic stoppers. Wine enthusiasts, however, do not recognize any other kind of stopper other than balsa wood. To appease traditionalists and cut costs for winemakers, SABIC Innovative Plastics has created a tree that is a cross between rubber and cork. Corks made from such wood look like ordinary ones, they even have porous properties, however, their plasticity and smell betray their origin. One of the famous winemakers noted that the new cork is the greatest thing that has happened to sparkling wine since the invention of bubbles.

6. Umbuku Lizard

This creature is the only one on this list that was not created for any practical reasons, but only for the purpose of proving that it could be made. Genetic engineers in Zimbabwe have managed to unlock dormant “flying” strands in the DNA of the umbuku lizard, a very small and rare resident of Africa. The lizards are believed to be a descendant of the pterodactyl, which lost the ability to fly several million years ago. To date, only 6 specimens of such lizards have been created; they are not released into the wild because there is a risk of cross-breeding.

5. Paper tree

Paper Tree has been specially developed to reduce production costs in the paper manufacturing industry. Recently, increased interest in recycled paper products has led a Swiss company to create a tree whose leaves are square in shape and can be used as writing paper when dry. In the image you can see a company employee near the trunk of one of the trees that the holding company grew.

4. Dolion

This is perhaps the most remarkable example of how far science can go with knowledge of genetic engineering and cross-fertilization techniques. Dolion is a cross between a lion and a dog. In order to create this creature (only 3 dolions exist today, the photo shows Rex, the very first dolion), individual strands of DNA from each creature must intertwine and be inserted back into the mother's egg. Dolion is similar to a liger (a cross between a lion and a tiger), with the only difference being that a liger can be created without first manipulating the animal's DNA.

3. Small Christmas trees

Small spruce trees are miniature trees that reach a height of only two cm. The tree was originally created to provide a source of spruce scent to be used in the perfume industry, however, the usefulness of these trees in other areas was very quickly realized. This tiny spruce is now very popular as an edible plant in Papua New Guinea. The trees have a very subtle aroma, which is enhanced by coconut milk. They are usually eaten as dessert.

2. Spider - fern

The spider fern is the most unique creature on this list because it is the only specimen that combines plant and animal. So far, he is the only animal that has been successfully crossed with a plant. This spider is a cross between an Italian wolf spider and a pong fern. The purpose of this strange crossing was to study the survival rate of spiders with “built-in” camouflage. The results of the study have not yet been published.

1. Lemurat

With China's growing wealth, many Chinese women are looking for exotic animals to show off their money. This has led to a number of Chinese medical and scientific research companies competing with each other for this new source of income by breeding different animals with each other. The most successful (financially) so far is the lemurat. It is, as the name suggests, a cross between a lemur and a cat. The animal retains the soft fur of a cat and its coloring, but its striped tail and yellow eyes mark it as a lemur. The creature is a little more ferocious than an ordinary cat, but no more dangerous than Chihuahua dogs.