Modified DNA Like Used At Jurassic Park Employed To Create Stronger Bigger Beagles

Oh oh. We all know what happened when scientists started using modified DNA at Jurassic Park! We got the monster of Jurassic World! Now they come for man’s best friend??

Researchers in China have created the first dogs whose DNA was modified by gene editing. Not a movie and for real!

The Business Insider reports they basically tweaked a dog's DNA to cut out a gene for the muscle limiting protein myostatin, and as a result created a beagle with twice the normal amount of muscle. (think T-Rex beagle versus Indominus Rex Beagle!)

The plan isn’t as profit serving as a scientific amusement park. No, this messing with mother nature is medical in nature. The idea is to tweak the dog DNA to muscle them up and then make them develop muscle affecting diseases similar to Parkinson's and muscular dystrophy, so they can study how these diseases work. Researchers note that beagles are commonly used in medical research because they share similarities with humans in their physiology, anatomy, and metabolism.

The two beagles created with super strength have been dubbed Tiangou, which means "heaven dog" in Chinese myth, and Hercules after the mythical Greek hero.

(Business Insider)