Hero Dog Wins Cloning Contest

So far, 'the Dollies' appear healthier than their namesake

(NEWSER) - Dolly the cloned sheep died seven years ago, but she lives on in four new clones. “The Dollies,” exact genetic copies of their namesake, were cloned by the scientist behind the research that produced Dolly herself. “Dolly is alive and well. Genetically these are Dolly,” Keith Campbell tells the Daily Mail . Whereas it took 227 eggs to produce a surviving lamb—Dolly—the first time around, this time each Dolly needed only five embryos. More»

Cause of death a mystery

(NEWSER) - One of of the world's first two cloned wolves has died due to unknown causes, reports the Korea Times. Snuwolf, 4, was found dead at South Korea's national zoo. Her identical sister, Snuwolffy, remains healthy. "Snuwolf had been in good condition," said Prof. Shin Nam-sik, a leader of the team that cloned the pair. "Wild animals often die suddenly. We will know the cause of death with the results of the autopsy." More»

Researchers turn adult, not embryonic, skin cells into stem cells

(NEWSER) - Scientists in China have created mice using stem cells made from modified skin cells—hinting at an alternative to embryonic stem cells, the Washington Post reports. Separate teams used viruses to manipulate genes that caused mice skin cells to regress back into induced pluripotent stem cells—which, within a placenta sheathing and in the wombs of female mice, developed into baby animals. More»

(NEWSER) - The owner of hero 9/11 sniffer dog Trakr has been presented with four new bouncing baby ... Trakrs, reports TMZ. The four black puppies with piercing blue eyes are all clones of their hero pop. Just in time, too—the original Trakr died in April at the age of 15. He was picked as "super clone worthy" by the California company BioArts International as part of its "Golden Clone Giveaway." More»

First clone died soon after birth

(NEWSER) - The buffalo has now joined sheep, camels, and wolves among the ranks of the cloned, Discover reports. Scientists at India’s National Dairy Research Institute first cloned a buffalo in February, but it died soon after its birth. They’ve now cloned another: Garima, a 95-pound female. The ability to clone could help build a buffalo population with choice features—like tasty milk and meat. More»