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Scientists have managed to breed rabbits that glow in the dark as part of a plan to develop treatments for life-threatening illnesses.

There are two green and glowing bunnies out of a litter of eight, and look like normal white rabbits during the day.

They were born at the University of Istanbul as part of a collaboration between scientists from universities in Turkey and Hawaii.

The rabbits glow to show that a genetic manipulation technique can work, though scientists say the colour doesn't matter.

"The green is not important at all – it's just a marker to show the experiment can be done successfully," said University of Hawaii associate professor Stefan Moisyadi.

To create these fluffy night lights, researchers injected jellyfish DNA into rabbit embryos. Those altered embryos were then inserted back into the mother.

Scientists have already created glowing insects and cats in similar experiments.

The rabbits should live for as long as their non-glowing brothers and sisters, but Moisyadi said he understands people can get upset by animal experiments.

"To the people against, I say: think about, what are the benefits and what are the injuries?" he said. "And if the benefits outweigh the injuries, let's go with the benefits."