Lamb engineered with jellyfish DNA sold as livestock in France

A genetically modified research lamb bred to have the DNA of a jellyfish was sold to a slaughterhouse amongst a group of normal, unchanged livestock.

It was then sold to a buyer in the Paris metropolitan region in October 2014 and is thought to have been consumed.

Authorities at the research institute have released a statement assuring the public that neither humans nor the environment would be adversely affected by the animal's release.

The incident is believed to have been a deliberate and malicious act resulting from tensions among the staff.

According to ABC News, "The lamb was born to a genetically modified ewe that had a gene derived from jellyfish, resulting in a 'green fluorescent protein' that makes certain cells florescent and is used to help researchers see how an affected area is working."

The perpetrators are expected to be punished once the investigation is over, in part because France has banned the selling of genetically modified foods to humans.

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