Next

The kid blinked. "Umm…" He swallowed.

"That ensures the paper will be cited more often," Bellarmino said, "which is important for a contribution of this magnitude. And of course the exact listing is just a formality. As second author you will be understood to have done the footwork here, the fill-in-the-gaps labor. From your standpoint, it’s really a win-win. You will get greater citations, and you will see much larger grants coming your way." He smiled. "I can assure you of that. Your next work will be entirely independent. And in a year or two, I’ll be supporting you for a lab of your own."

"I, uh…" The kid gulped. "I understand."

"Good, good. Make these changes, shoot it back to me, and I’ll submit it toNature. I think this deserves a better platform thanScience, which is a little down at the heels these days. I’ll call over toNature and make sure the editor understands the importance of this paper, and see that we get immediate publication."

"Thanks, Rob," the kid said.

"Anytime," Rob Bellarmino said.

"wet art" on display

Transgenic Organisms in Galleries
Living Creatures for Sale

in London, South African artist Laura Cinti displayed a transgenic cactus that contained human genetic material, and grew human hairs. Cinti said, "The cactus with all its hairs coming out is showing all the desires, all the signs of sexuality. It doesn’t want to be trapped. It wants to be released."

When asked about the public reaction to the cactus, Cinti said, "Bald men are particularly interested."

Artist Marta de Menezes created modified butterflies where one wing was different from the other. She said, "People were very shocked at first. They didn’t think it was a good idea." She said that, next, she would make the stripes of zebra fish vertical instead of horizontal so the fish would look more like zebras. These changes would be inherited.

Finnish artist Oron Catts grew pig wings in culture from pig bone marrow stem cells. He said the artist’s team played music to the pig cells to make them grow. "We downloaded lots of pig songs…and played them to the cells." He said the cells seemed to do better with music.

Chicago-based artist Eduardo Kac created a transgenic rabbit called Alba that glowed green. The fertilized egg of an albino rabbit was injected with GPF, the gene for green fluorescent protein from a Pacific Northwest jellyfish. The animal that grew from the egg now glows. A furor resulted. Kac observed that "[the rabbit] does make some people uncomfortable," but noted that GPF is a common research tool and has been injected into yeast, molds, plants, fruit flies, mice, and cow embryos. Kac said he was looking forward to making a fluorescent dog.

Alba died prematurely of unknown causes. So did the transgenic cactuses.

In 2003 the first transgenic pet was offered for sale to the public. A red-fluorescing zebra fish, it was created by Dr. Zhiyuan Gong in Singapore, and licensed to a company in Austin, Texas. It was marketed under the name GloFish, after two years of review by federal and state agencies, which concluded the fish were safe, so long as they were not eaten.

CHapter 032

Madame Bond,"the first-grade teacher said, "your son is a delightful boy, but he is having trouble with his math. Addition comes slowly to him; subtraction is even more difficult. However, his French is much improved."

"I am glad to know that," Gail Bond said. "The move here from London was hard for him. But I must admit, I’m surprised about his difficulty with math."

"Because you are a scientist, you mean?"

"I suppose so, yes. I work at the Institut National here in Paris," she said, "and Evan’s father is an investment banker; he works all day with numbers."

"Well," the teacher replied, "as you are a geneticist, I am sure you know everything is not in the genes. Sometimes the child of a great artist cannot draw. But I must tell you that it does your son no good if you do his homework for him."

"Sorry?" Gail Bond said. "Do his homework?"

"Well, this must be the case," the teacher said. "You or someone else in the household."

"I don’t understand."

"Evan’s homework is always perfect. But when there is a quiz in class, he does poorly. Evidently, someone is doing his homework for him."

Gail Bond shook her head. "But I don’t know who it could be," she said. "My son comes home from school and only the housekeeper is there when he does his homework. She doesn’t speak much French. I return at five, and by then his homework is finished. Or so he tells me."

"You do not review it?"

"No. Never. He says there is no need."

"Well," the teacher said, "he is getting help from somewhere." She took out the homework sheets and spread them on the desk. "You see? Every problem, on every sheet. Perfect."

"I see," Gail said, staring at the papers. "And these stains…" There were small green and white stains on the paper, droplets.

"Often these marks are present. Usually at the bottom of the sheet. As if something were spilled."

"I think I know who is helping him," Gail Bond said.

"Who?"

"It’s someone from the lab."

She unlocked thedoor to the apartment and heard Gerard call, "Hello, sweetheart," exactly as her husband did.

"Hi, Gerard," she said. "What’s new with you?"

"I need a bath."

"I’ll see that you get one," she said. She walked into the hallway where Gerard was standing on his perch. He was a transgenic African grey parrot, now two years old. While he was a chick, he had received a variety of human genes, so far with no noticeable effect.