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Pet Dragons for All!

from Sploid

Mad scientists in California have a terrible vision for your family's future: genetically engineered dragon monsters living in your home, as pets.

According to The Economist, a biotech company called GeneDupe is close to creating living dragons that will be sold as pets.

Animals rights activists and those opposed to genetically-modified food have been outraged by the company's plans, which are outlined in the March 30 issue of the business magazine.

GeneDupe is currently building "virtual" dragons and other mythological creatures.

By combining the cells of real animals - lizards, for example, in the case of a dragon - with a sort of high-speed intelligent design, GeneDupe scientists will create cell patterns and DNA for monsters.

Right now, the beasts have not left the computer. But they will soon, according to Dr. Paolo Fril, chairman and chief scientific officer for GeneDupe in San Melito, California.

"This involves synthesizing, with actual DNA, the genetic material that the computer models predict will produce the mythical creatures," reported The Economist.

"The synthetic DNA is then inserted into a cell that has had its natural nucleus removed. The result, Dr Fril and his commercial backers hope, will be a real live dragon, unicorn or what have you."

But it seems the company is better at announcing outrageous plans than successfully bringing living monstrosities to market.

In 2000, GeneDupe boldly announced that a customized goldfish would soon go on sale. The expensive pets would be genetically altered to order - a goldfish could literally have gold flakes in its scales, or be grown in the colors of the French flag.

Savvy Internet readers found some suspicious holes in the GeneDupe story today.

For one thing, The Economist seems to be the only business publication paying any attention to the shady company's pipe dreams.

For another, if the town of San Melito exists in California, it does not appear on any known maps.

In fact, the only references to San Melito on the entire World Wide Web are in Economist articles about GeneDupe, which either means the renowned centuries-old business publication is propping up a fraudulent company or that the whole thing is a cruel joke published two days before April 1.