Friday Squid Blogging: We’re Genetically Engineering Squid Now
Is this a good idea?
The transparent squid is a genetically altered version of the hummingbird bobtail squid, a species usually found in the tropical waters from Indonesia to China and Japan. It’s typically smaller than a thumb and shaped like a dumpling. And like other cephalopods, it has a relatively large and sophisticated brain.
The see-through version is made possible by a gene editing technology called CRISPR, which became popular nearly a decade ago.
Albertin and Rosenthal thought they might be able to use CRISPR to create a special squid for research. They focused on the hummingbird bobtail squid because it is small, a prodigious breeder, and thrives in lab aquariums, including one at the lab in Woods Hole.
Is this far behind?
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.
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Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.
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