Photographing genetically modifyed lab mouses

Last week I visited a laboratory of Biotehniška fakulteta in Domžale and with journalist Staš Zgonik we checked their lab and their storage room in the basement (dungeon as they call it) of the faculty. We had to dress sterile clothes, but not because we could get a disease, but because of mouses. They are practically sterile, so every human visiting the dungeon needs to wear sterile clothes.

On the pictures you can see the device were genes are modified. It’s a super microscope with robotic handles that costs about 20.000 EUR. So the procedure as I understand it, is they make a forced abortus to a mouse, then take the egg and change the gene code and insert it back to a mouse. On one picture there are different mouses white, black and gray, that have modified genes for color of their fur. White mouse was born to parents with black fur and vice versa. We devoted three pages article in tomorrows issue of Mladina.