China creates gene-edited 'micropigs' to satisfy an emerging fringe pet market

Micro-pigs image from flickr (not the chinese ones)
(Image by ironypoisoning)   Details   DMCA

By nearly any measure, the Beijing Genomics Institute in Shenzhen is the premier genetics powerhouse. In 2010, for example, their 500-node supercomputer was processing and analyzing over 10 terabytes of raw sequencing data every 24 hours. They now produce a quarter of the world's genomic data, dwarfing the output of places like Harvard and the NIH. Whether BGI is also the undisputed champion at turning this data glut into useful knowledge, on the other hand, is perhaps a matter of opinion.

A recent report in Nature hints at a tantalizing new creation that BGI is set to unleash on the open market: Made-to-order, programmable “micropigs.”