The two Turkish Angora cats now glow red when exposed to ultraviolet light. The scientists believe the process could be used to develop treatments for human genetic diseases and could help reproduce rare animals.
To clone the cats, Kong's team used skin cells of the mother cat. They modified its genes to make them fluorescent by using a virus, which was transplanted into the ova. The ova were then implanted into the womb of the donor cat. Four kittens were born but two died during the caesarean section.
"It will also help develop stemcell treatments," he said, noting that cats have 250 kinds of genetic diseases that affect humans as well.
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