First patented animal

OncoMouse® was created and patented in 1988 by DuPont for cancer research. A "transgenic" mouse, OncoMouse contains a human gene that makes it susceptible to cancer.

OncoMouse was genetically modified by Philip Leder and Timothy A. Stewart (both USA) of Harvard University. The specific human gene in question is an activated oncogene, which can trigger normal cells to grow into tumour cells (from the Greek onco for tumour). The term "transgenic" refers to the artificial introduction of one species' DNA into the genome of another.