Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts (35 page)

In a Gallup poll
: David W. Moore, “Public Lukewarm on Animal Rights,” Gallup News Service, May 21, 2003,
www.gallup.com/poll/8461/public-lukewarm-animal-rights.aspx
.

These conflicting attitudes
: Herzog,
Some We Love
, 11–12.

“Some argue that we are…”
: Ibid., 12.

“I know that physiology…”
: Charles Darwin, “Mr. Darwin on Vivisection,”
Times
(London), April 18, 1881.

“We’ve always had strong…”
: Twine, discussion, 2009.

One analysis of fifty … hereditary afflictions
: L. Asher et al., “Inherited Defects in Pedigree Dogs. Part 1: Disorders Related to Breed Standards,”
The Veterinary Journal
182 (2009): 402–11.

Dalmatians are prone to … terrible hips
: “Inherited Diseases in Dogs Database,” University of Cambridge, accessed March 7, 2012,
www.vet.cam.ac.uk/idid/
.

As of 2012, commercial labs
: Cathryn Mellersh, “DNA Testing and Domestic Dogs,”
Mammalian Genome
23 (2012): 109–23.

For less than a hundred dollars
: “VetGen—Veterinary Genetic Services,” VetGen, accessed March 8, 2012,
www.vetgen.com
.

For example, Cavalier King Charles spaniels
: Asher et al., “Inherited Defects in Pedigree Dogs. Part 1”; Nicola Rooney and David Sargan, “Pedigree Dog Breeding in the UK: A Major Welfare Concern?” (UK: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 2009); Companion Animal Welfare Council,
Breeding and Welfare.

genetic testing, followed by … and corgis
: Rooney and Sargan, “Pedigree Dog Breeding in the UK.”

gene therapy experiments have been
: Glenn P. Niemeyer, “Long-term Correction of Inhibitor-Prone Hemophilia B Dogs Treated with Liver-Directed AAV2-Mediated Factor IX Gene Therapy,”
Blood
113, no. 4 (2009): 797–806; Katherine Parker Ponder et al., “Therapeutic Neonatal Hepatic Gene Therapy in Mucopolysaccharidosis VII Dogs,”
PNAS
99, no. 20 (2002): 13102–13107; S. J. M. Niessen et al., “Novel Diabetes Mellitus Treatment: Mature Canine Insulin Production by Canine Striated Muscle Through Gene Therapy,”
Domestic Animal Endocrinology
(available online February 21, 2012).

These dogs had all been
: Gustavo Aguirre, in discussion with author via telephone, April 5, 2012; Gregory M. Acland et al., “Gene Therapy Restores Vision in a Canine Model of Childhood Blindness,”
Nature Genetics
28 (May 2001): 92–95; “RPE65,” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, accessed March 12, 2012,
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/RPE65
.

In 2001, Gustavo Aguirre
: Details of the gene therapy trial are from Acland et al., “Gene Therapy Restores Vision”; and Aguirre, discussion.

And the fix was permanent
: Aguirre, discussion.

For blind animals—and humans
: There are many papers and ongoing projects in this field. Here are a few: James D. Weiland, et al., “Retinal Prostheses: Current Clinical Results and Future Needs,”
Ophthalmology
11, no. 118 (2011): 2227–37. Gerald J. Chader, et al., “Artificial Vision: Needs, Functioning, and Testing of a Retinal Electronic Prosthesis,”
Progress in Brain Research
175 (2009): 317–32. J. D. Loudin, et al., “Optoelectronic Retinal Prosthesis: System Design and Performance,”
Journal of Neural Engineering
4 (2007): S72–84.

Helen Sang, a developmental … feathered flocks
: Sang, discussion; Jon Lyall et al., “Suppression of Avian Influenza Transmission in Genetically Modified Chickens,”
Science
331 (January 14, 2011): 223–26.

“What I would like to see happen…”
: Kraemer, discussion, December 2010.

“You have to bear in mind…”
: Twine, discussion, 2012.

Or consider a more extreme
: “Not Grass-Fed, but at Least Pain-Free,”
New York Times
, February 19, 2010.

George Dvorsky, a Canadian bioethicist … same technologies
: George Dvorsky, in discussion with author via telephone, February 15, 2010, and March 16, 2012; Geroge Dvorsky, “All Together Now: Developmental and Ethical Considerations for Biologically Uplifting Nonhuman Animals,”
Journal of Evolution and Technology
18, no. 1 (2008): 129–42.

“Their horizon line is extremely…”
: Dvorsky, discussion, 2010.

Dvorsky also imagines … complex forms of language
: Ibid.

“I realize how absolutely…”
: Ibid.

Scientists have already engineered
: Ya-Ping Tang et al., “Genetic Enhancement of Learning and Memory in Mice,”
Nature
401 (September 2, 1999): 63–69; Jonah Lehrer, “Small, Furry … and Smart,”
Nature
461 (October 14, 2009): 862–64.

Another team of researchers
: Theodore W. Berger et al., “A Cortical Neural Prosthesis for Restoring and Enhancing Memory,”
Journal of Neural Engineering
8, no. 4 (2011): 046017.

“blurring of the species line”
: Dvorsky, discussion, 2012.

“the entire biosphere”
: Dvorsky, discussion, 2010.

as the planet warms, birds
:
Birds and Climate Change: Ecological Disruption in Motion
(National Audubon Institute, 2009).

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel
: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
Climate Change 2007
(Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations, 2007).

Though a big ram … horn sizes
: Chris T. Darimont et al., “Human Predators Outpace Other Agents of Trait Change in the Wild,”
PNAS
106, no. 3 (2009): 952–54; David W. Coltman et al., “Undesirable Evolutionary Consequences of Trophy Hunting,”
Nature
426 (December 11, 2003): 655–58.

Similarly, fish have adapted
: Stephen Palumbi, “Humans as the World’s Greatest Evolutionary Force,”
Science
293 (September 7, 2001): 1786–90.

“I’m of the persuasion…”
: Kraemer, discussion, October 2009.

If the world’s farms
: Digital Angel Corp. patented the Bio-Thermo Microchip in 2006. (Vincent K. Chan and Ezequiel Mejia, “Method and Apparatus for Sensing and Transmitting a Body Characteristic of a Host,” US Patent 7015826, filed April 2, 2002, issued March 21, 2006.) When the chips were introduced, the president of Digital Angel said the company planned to target chicken farmers and producers (Ephraim Schwartz, “Could Chips in Chickens Track Avian Flu?”
PC World
, December 6, 2005,
www.pcworld.com/article/123845/could_chips_in_chickens_track_avian_flu.html
; “Poultry Microchip on Watch for Bird Flu,” UPI, December 5, 2005,
www.upi.com/Science_News/2005/12/05/Poultry-microchip-on-watch-for-bird-flu/UPI-82541133811677/
). However, Digital Angel sold Destron Fearing, its animal ID unit, in 2011 (“Digital Angel Closes Sale of Destron Fearing Unit,” Digital Angel, accessed March 7, 2012,
www.digitalangel.com/presspost.php?passedcount=4
). The current Destron Fearing website (
www.destronfearing.com/
, accessed March 7, 2012) does not mention the use of the chips in chickens.

In 2006, scientists at Case Western
: Richard W. Hanson and Parvin Hakimi, “Born to Run: The Story of the PEPCK-C
^mus
Mouse,”
Biochimie
90, no. 6 (2008): 838–42.

Some of the vision disorders … visually impaired people
: Aguirre, discussion.

In 2012, for instance, a team of Swiss researchers
: Rubia van den Brand, et al, “Restoring Voluntary Control of Locomotion after Paralyzing Spinal Cord Injury,”
Science
336, no. 6085 (2012): 1182–85.

Acknowledgments

Writing a book is a solitary endeavor, but researching, reporting, polishing, and publishing one is anything but. Many people provided crucial assistance along the way.

First and foremost, thanks to the many scientists who invited me into their labs and lives. Many of them are mentioned in the preceding pages. Others do not appear in the book but provided me with invaluable background information and context. I am grateful to all of them. Without the generosity of these very busy researchers, this book literally would not have been possible.

I appreciate all those who read early chapter drafts and provided feedback. Nick Summers, Michelle Sipics, Blaine Boman, Alison Anthes, Gary Anthes, and Caroline Mayer, you have helped make this book better.

Thanks to the entire team at Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Amanda Moon has been a superlative editor throughout this process. Her energy and enthusiasm for this project equaled my own. Amanda’s incisive comments and gentle suggestions helped turn my manuscript from a jumble of sentences into a coherent whole. Karen Maine became my trusty citations, formatting, and style guru, and Chris Richards ably took over where she left off. Kathy Daneman and the rest of the publicity and marketing brigade at FSG and
Scientific American
worked tirelessly to get the book into readers’ hands.

I am indebted to everyone at the Park Literary Group, but especially to Theresa Park, who gave a young writer a chance, and Abigail Koons, who is the best agent a girl could ask for. Abby helped me navigate the transition from journalist to author and became my invaluable guide to the world of publishing. She provided spot-on writing and professional advice and became not just an agent, but also a motivator, cheerleader, and friend. I owe both my book and my sanity to her. (Also, special thanks to Blair Wilson for keeping Abby sane and the office running smoothly.)

On a more personal note, I’d like to thank my boyfriend, Blaine, who ably handled my occasional meltdowns; my sister, Ali, who kept me well-stocked with baked goods; and my parents, who provided more support than can possibly be detailed here. It’s their own journalistic careers that introduced me to the field I have come to love, and for that—and so many other things—I will be forever grateful.

Finally, I must acknowledge Artemis, CC, Bruce, Dewey, Winter, Chrisie, Jonathan Sealwart, GloFish 1 through 6, Woods Hole 1 and 2, and all the other animals that gamely tolerated my intrusion into their lives. Though they did not volunteer to become guinea pigs or lightning rods, science and society owe these creatures one giant, collective thank-you note.

And, of course, lots of love to Milo, whose insatiable need for ear rubs and neighborhood walks kept my body from cramping up during the longest writing sessions. He is my own little beast.

Index

The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

Academy of Medical Sciences, British

Acoustic Kitty, Operation

acoustic tags

ACRES (Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species)

adenine

Advanced Cell Technology

aesthetic sensibilities, animals’ appeal to

African clawed frog

African wildcats, cloning of

agriculture: cloning in; genetically modified crops in

Agriculture Department, U.S. (USDA)

Aguirre, Gustavo

American Anti-Vivisection Society

American Kennel Club (AKC)

American Veterinary Medical Association

angioedema

animal cognition, genetic engineering and

animal cyborgs; beetles; cockroaches; ethical concerns about; flies; honeybees; moths; optical control of; rats; sensors on