THE world's first glow-in-the-dark sheep have been born in Uruguay.

Scientists from Uruguay's Institute of Animal Reproduction modified the gene of nine sheep using a green fluorescent protein found in the Aequorea Victoria jellyfish.



Result? Sheep that glow in the dark but that are otherwise completely normal, according to the scientists.



The sheep were born in October 2012 and were immediate injected with the green protein.



Today, the sheep emit a glowing green colour when exposed to ultraviolet light.



The leader of the research team, Alejo Menchaca, told the Examiner.com the sheep are healthy and behave normally. They just glow.



Dr Menchaca said they performed the experiment to fine-tune the glow-in-the-dark technique.



The sheep are not the first animals to have been genetically modified to glow in the dark and despite the quirky result, there is a serious side to these experiments. Scientists use the research to better understand animal and human diseases.



And who knows, the knowledge may lead to glow-in-the-dark knitwear that will make your friends green too.