Monkey+Fish =?

What do you get when you cross a monkey with a jellyfish? a) a jelly-monkey, b) an ANDi, c) an ethical crisis.

Actually, all of the above. Scientists in Portland, Oregon, succeeded in implanting a jellyfish gene into a rhesus monkey before it was born, the first genetic engineering in a primate. They named him ANDi (for "(i)nserted DNA," backward). Similar experiments have been done on mice for decades, but a monkey's structure is much closer to a human's. The big worry is, if we can toy with a monkey, how long before we can alter a human? Will the next generation of babies be custom-made ("give her brown eyes, red hair, and a genius IQ")?

Don't worry yet. For scientists, precisely modifying human genes would be like mastering calculus when you've only begun to grasp arithmetic. ANDi's added gene is supposed to generate green-glowing protein, but it isn't working. If the experts can figure out why, the next small step is to create more ANDis, this time with human genes. That could lead to groundbreaking study of diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer, possibly leading to cures. For now, the ANDi scientists say they'll confine their genetic monkeying around to monkeys.