Clones Do It Doggy Style
By Emma Norman
It could be puppy love; well let’s hope it is anyway. Scientists at Seoul National University, South Korea, have announced that the world’s first two dog clones are to be mated later this year.
Snuppy (Seoul National University puppy), the world’s first cloned dog, is a male Afghan hound. His soon-to-be mate, the world’s second dog clone, is a female called Bona, also an Afghan. The experiment will set out to identify the reproductive capacity of the clones.
The two dogs were created by a team which included the controversial clone expert Hwang Woo-Suk. Hwang once claimed that he created the world’s first human stem cell clone; however, a university inquiry revealed he had faked his results. The scientist is now facing a number of charges including ethical breaches and fraud, but the work involving the cloned canines has been verified by the university as genuine.
Snuppy (Seoul National University puppy), the world’s first cloned dog, is a male Afghan hound. His soon-to-be mate, the world’s second dog clone, is a female called Bona, also an Afghan. The experiment will set out to identify the reproductive capacity of the clones.
The two dogs were created by a team which included the controversial clone expert Hwang Woo-Suk. Hwang once claimed that he created the world’s first human stem cell clone; however, a university inquiry revealed he had faked his results. The scientist is now facing a number of charges including ethical breaches and fraud, but the work involving the cloned canines has been verified by the university as genuine.
The team of scientists claim that the dogs are happy and healthy, enjoying all the normal aspects of doggy life. However, the mating of the two cloned canines gives birth to innumerable questions of ethics and morality. As if these two individuals don’t have enough identity and lifestyle issues to deal with they now have to face the awkwardness and uncertainty of an arranged date! Never an easy thing to do. What if, with the whole world watching, they are just unable to hit it off?
Even then, if the dogs do find each other irresistible, enter the love shack and are able to produce a Snuppy puppy will this be a Bona-fide scientific achievement or a Bona-contention?
Get more from Emma or go fetch some other canine science:
- News - Security goes to the dogs
- Spoof - Bedside foraging behaviour
- News - DVD dogs on the beat
Image: Puppynet
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