Albino lizards are the world’s first genetically modified reptiles

Doug Menke

By Michael Le Page

The CRISPR genome-editing technique has been used to make the world’s first genetically modified reptiles: four albino lizards. The breakthrough may have a wide variety of uses, from studying human eye disorders to tackling invasive pythons.

Our ability to tweak the genomes of animals like mice and zebrafish has been hugely useful for medical research. But there are some conditions that are hard to study in existing lab animals. For instance, people with albinism often have vision problems because the genetic variants that …