Incredible Genetically Modified Plants And Animals That Scientists Are Spending Millions On

Developed by: Unknown
Est. Research Costs: $35 million*

When it comes to cabbages, you might think the need for a strong, robust crop is something that many farmers would love to have. This is true, but scientists aren’t looking at creating a unique brand of extra-leafy greens, although it’s certainly part of the thought process. 

Venomous Cabbage ©Kawongwarin / Shutterstock.com

In this case, developers have spent millions on rearing a cabbage that’s venomous. By using the poison in scorpion tails, scientists hope that these cabbages will keep caterpillars and other nasties at bay. Don’t panic though – if it ever makes it to Walmart the toxin will be altered so it’s 100% human-friendly.

Developed by: National University of Singapore
Est. Research Costs: $20 million+*

There has been a solid market for pet fish for years, with many people keeping tanks in their homes that go beyond the usual goldfish in a bowl scenario. Some tropical fish are completely breathtaking, but back in 1999 Dr. Zhiyuan Gong and his team decided to take things up a notch. 

Glofish @Glofish / Facebook.com

They created GloFish, the world’s first-ever GMO pet. Gong and his gang injected the protein that makes jellyfish glow and inserted it into a run-of-the-mill zebrafish. The result was glow-in-the-dark fish that lit up a tank. You can still buy them today, while accessories from the GloFish brand are readily available on Amazon. 

Developed by: MIT
Est. Research Costs: $20 million+*

Landmines are terrible inventions that cause terrible destruction, injuring military personnel and civilians alike. While landmines themselves are cheap to make, they take an incredible amount of manpower to detect. Back in 2016, MIT revealed it had a secret weapon of its own: landmine-detecting plants. 

Land Mine-Detecting Plants @Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) / Youtube.com

The statement from the prestigious college read, “By embedding leaves with carbon nanotubes, MIT engineers have transformed spinach plants into sensors that can detect explosives and wirelessly relay that information to a handheld device similar to a smartphone.” Perhaps Popeye was right about this vegetable after all. 

Developed by: University of Guelph Ontario
Est. Research Costs: $60 million*

Dubbed “Frankenswine” by some media outlets, the Enviropig was an interesting creation made by scientists at the University of Guelph, Ontario over a decade ago. The idea was to create a pig that produced more environmentally friendly excrement. 

Enviropigs ©Budimir Jevtic / Shutterstock.com

Apparently, usual pigs have an enormously high amount of phosphorus in their poop, which ends up causing harm to marine life when farmers use it as fertilizer. Scientists hoped that by adding E. coli and mouse DNA to a pig embryo they would be able to change this rather unhappy outcome. Needless to say, the idea never really took off on a grand scale.  

Developed by: AquaBounty
Est. Research Costs: $100 million*

Salmon is one of the most popular fish on the market, with consumers going wild for the tasty pink sea creature. However, the demand often means that there’s a strain on the sustainable fish market. A few years ago, AquaBounty scientists came up with a way to combat this. 

Fast-growing Salmon @J LEVIN W / Wikimedia.org

They added a growth hormone from a Chinook salmon and inputted it into an Atlantic salmon. The result was a fish that continued to grow to a much bigger size, therefore adding a much-needed product to the market. The fish went on sale in 2015. 

Developed by: New Zealand scientists
Est. Research Costs: $20 million*

Every cook knows the pain of chopping onions. Even professionals never underestimate just how difficult it can be to get through this battle without streaming eyes, but back in 2008 a band of New Zealand researchers decided to remedy the situation. 

Onions That Do Not Make You Cry ©yamasan0708 / Shutterstock.com

Led by Colin Eady, the team created an onion that doesn’t invoke the traditional reaction by inserting a gene that weakens the enzymes. Not only does this onion leave you with dry eyes, but it’s also thought to have more nutrients in it, making it healthier. You can’t say that about regular Walmart onions, can you?

Developed by: English scientists
Est. Research Costs: $30 million*

Tomatoes and the color red go hand in hand, but that may not always be the case. In 2008, English scientists banded together to create a new variation of purple tomato, taking a gene from a normal plant and inserting it into the fruit. Amazingly, they later tested the process on mice, only to find out that it prevented them from developing cancer. 

Purple Tomatoes ©Tatiana Zinchenko / Shutterstock.com

Needless to say, the idea was a huge one but it was later proved not to have the same effect on humans. Purple tomatoes may not be popular on the market, but you can buy some nice orange shades from normal grocery stores like Kroger if you feel like a change.

Developed by: University of Washington
Est. Research Costs: $40 million*

Pollution remains a hot topic as the world continues to fight against the climate crisis, so it’s understandable that scientists would be doing whatever they can to combat it. The University of Washington chipped in by working on a project that could see pollution-fighting plants hit the market. 

Pollution-fighting Plants ©tharathep lomchid / Shutterstock.com

Apparently, the roots of the plants are engineered so they soak up common ground pollutants and absorb them, making them safe. Tests were very promising, showing that over 90% of the pollutant was removed, compared to a paltry 3% in usual plants. 

Developed by: Nexia Biotechnologies
Est. Research Costs: $100 million*

Spider silk has fascinated scientists for years. Not only are spiders mini-eight-legged geniuses that can create powerful structures, but the silk itself is incredibly durable. Over two decades ago, Nexia Biotechnologies decided to find a way of harnessing spidey power for its own. The answer was to mesh goat DNA with the silk gene. 

Web-spinning Goats ©Gorynvd / Shutterstock.com

The goats then produced the silk protein in their milk, allowing Nexia to create a product that could be used for all manner of things, from parachute chords to artificial ligaments. The company termed the product Biosteel. It may sound like something out of a Sony movie, but Peter Parker isn’t involved.

Developed by: British scientists
Est. Research Costs: $50 million*

When most of us select our eggs at the store, we don’t stop and think about what’s actually inside them. As long as the shells are whole, then in the cart they go. However, British scientists thought there was an opportunity here. By tweaking the genes in the hens, scientists were able to produce eggs that were actually medicinal. 

Medicinal Eggs ©maradon 333 / Shutterstock.com

Rather than containing drugs, the eggs were made up of a mix of human proteins along with medical protein. As a result, they contained miR24, a little component that has the potential to fight serious illnesses like cancer and sclerosis. You can’t buy those at Walmart.

Developed by: Swiss scientist Ingo Potrykus
Est. Research Costs: $85 million*

Back in 2000, Swiss scientist Ingo Potrykus was making waves and appearing on the cover of Time. Alongside one of his colleagues, Ingo had managed to find a solution to malnutrition by creating a type of rice infused with provitamin A. The lack of this vitamin is well-known to cause serious side effects in the poorest communities, including blindness. 

Golden Rice @timemagazine / Pinterest.com

The color of the rice became its namesake, but while it was an honorable and worthy cause, the rollout of the grain was never introduced into the markets that could benefit most from it. Hopefully, Potrykus’ work will get there eventually.

Developed by: Unknown
Est. Research Costs: $80 million*

Spraying insecticide on plants comes with its own set of problems. While it may kill all the bugs and critters that savage crops on a daily basis, it’s not particularly good for humans and it can be an expensive business for farmers. What if corn could be grown that has inbuilt insecticide? 

Corn ©naramit / Shutterstock.com

That way, farmers wouldn’t have to pay out extra cash to keep their crops healthy and would still be able to wield a decent amount. The only downside is that researchers found that the corn’s genetically modified superpower may actually harm good insects like butterflies, too. 

Developed by: Calgene
Est. Research Costs: $100 million*

Genetically modified food may seem perpetually futuristic, but the practice itself dates back decades. In 1994, the first-ever modified food to hit the market was approved by the FDA. Developed by Calgene, the Flavr Savr tomato was supposedly juicier than the usual variety, with an extra-long shelf life. 

Flavr Savr Tomato ©fotomanX / Shutterstock.com

The public consumed the lab-manufactured product for three years, but by 1997 it had disappeared from grocery stores like Walmart as they were prone to be damaged during transportation. What’s more, there was apparently very little flavor in the Flavr Savr, which wasn’t exactly on-brand. 

Developed by: KFC and 3D Bioprinting Solutions
Est. Research Costs: Unknown

The colonel’s secret recipe has undoubtedly evolved over the years, but in 2020 KFC announced a bizarre twist to future plans. According to them, the future of finger-licking good chicken lies in 3D printing. The brand joined forces with 3D Bioprinting Solutions, a Russian lab to kickstart this latest innovation. 

Kfc 3d Print Edible Chicken Nuggets ©Justin Sullivan / Gettyimages.com

According to them, the process will be cost-effective, eco-friendly, and will be the future of business. Yum’s KFC said the project was due to the “growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle and nutrition.” However, it may be sometime before these printed nuggets hit out buckets.