An opossum has become the world's first genetically engineered marsupial, scientists in Japan have revealed. The gene editing project on the creature has been undertaken by scientists from the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Kobe, Japan. Genome editing enables scientists to make changes to DNA, leading to changes in physical traits. Now, the researchers are using new gene editing technology to learn more about the underlying genetics and revealing the biological processes at work. Some of the offspring from the experiment were albino and their genes were inherited by the next generation, marking the first successful gene editing in marsupials.

Source: Daily Mail July 21, 2021 15:00 UTC