Indian Scientists Clone Buffalo

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»

Scientist who lied about stem cells gets suspended sentence

(AP) - The disgraced South Korean scientist who falsely claimed major breakthroughs in stem cell research in human clones was convicted of embezzlement and other charges, but was acquitted of fraud and received only a suspended sentence. Hwang Woo-suk was hailed as a national hero in 2004 for claiming in the journal Science that he had created the world's first cloned human embryos and had extracted stem cells from them. A university committee later found the report was fraudulent and the journal retracted his research. 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»

Plus, old friends Macca and Brooke weigh in

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson “was hoping that Michael Jackson could live forever,” his chauffeur tells the Mirror. “Michael said he wanted a mini-version of himself cloned to carry on his legacy.” The singer became obsessed with the idea after learning about a religious sect that believes cloning is the key to eternal life. Elsewhere:

• Paul McCartney has some words—albeit not too harsh—for Jackson’s allegedly abusive father, reports the Sun. “I don’t want to judge but I do think that contributed to some of the problems Michael might have had," he says.