Maybe Dr. Seuss was trying to tell us something. Chickens aren’t laying green eggs yet, but green ham is here: Scientists in China have taken the bit of jellyfish DNA that makes them glow in the dark, and transferred it into piglets. So when you put the piglets under a black light, they glow green. Check it out:

The University of Hawaii, whose research was used in the pig-glowing process, says that the piglets are squealing in response to the lights being turned off and being held in the container, not anything more sinister.

Reader support helps sustain our work. Donate today to keep our climate news free. All donations DOUBLED!

These aren’t even the first glowing mammals. Scientists in Turkey have already made glowing rabbits and are working on sheep. The point of all this isn’t to make living holiday decorations — it’s to perfect the process of getting new genes to express in different animals. But we won’t be surprised if glowing pigs become a novelty item sometime soon.

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.