I seem to be a bit behind in learning about fluorescent animals. Yes, I knew that jellyfish and other sea organisms can glow, but a green fluorescent pig, a potato plant that glows green when it needs water, and red fluorescent kittens!!! Yikes!
I would very much like to have plants that glowed when I forget to water them, but a glowing cat? It would certainly not be a helpful trait for animals that feed at night. So why did three research scientists receive a Nobel prize in Chemistry in 2008 for their discovery and development of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)?
It seems that the GFP can be attached to other proteins allowing scientists to monitor processes in living organisms, such as cell division which will help with learning more about cancer.
Fluorescent materials glow as long as they are being energized, but stop glowing when the energy is removed. What kind of energy makes a pig with GFP glow? For information, see LUMINESCENT