September 28, 2007: Transparent frog

[Undertoad]

From Pink Tentacle comes this item. A Japanese research team came up with the idea of a frog whose skin is see-through, so you can see its organs and blood, right through the skin. That way scientists can check the condition of those things without having to, you know, kill and dissect it. Which effectively ends a trial period for a frog...

According to Sumida, the transparent frog is the result of breeding two specimens of Japanese brown frog (Rana japonica) that had a genetic mutation giving them pale skin. By selectively breeding their offspring, the researchers were able to create a frog that remains transparent for its entire life cycle. Most of the world's known transparent creatures live underwater, and transparent four-legged animals are extremely rare.

Oh, no, I just thought of something... could you see the frog's doody?! Or just a lump that moves through its body. I want a transparent frog.