Korea to Clone Drug Sniffing Dogs

SK writes "Scientists at Seoul National University Korea are seeking to commercially clone dogs this year — the world's first attempt to create canine clones for money. Senior researcher Kim Min-kyu at the Seoul-based University is spearheading the efforts based on his team's expertise in cloning dogs. As per Mr. Kim early last month, they signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Customs Service to clone its drug-sniffing dogs. They have already obtained somatic cells of the expensive dogs and will attempt to clone them in July or August to get puppies late this year at the earliest."

Comments

Uhhh

[Spudtrooper]

I hate to break it to them, but that whole "drug sniffing" thing is the result of training. They don't just pop out knowing what pot smells like.

Re:From a logical point of view

[captainClassLoader]

As someone who trains dogs semi-professionally, I've got to agree with jimstapleton. Dogs are incredibly genetically variable animals, and just cloning a decent dog is, at best, only a small part of doing the job, and probably a waste. Other factors in the development of a drug-detection dog include:

1. Is the dog healthy enough to complete training? (A dog could have a fantastic nose, but bad hips, or some other non-obvious physical problem.)
2. Is the dog amenable to training? (Some dogs are dumb, but others are just not interested in learning.)
3. Does the dog have the stamina to work as hard as needed?
4. Does the dog have a decent nose? (Just because the cell donor does, doesn't mean the clone will, any more than the cat that was cloned had the same fur pattern as the cell donor.)

Is ScentCone out there? Given his handle, I guess he'd have a few words to say about this as well.

Re:From a logical point of view

[osgeek]

1 is subject to debate and will be based upon the cloner's ability to minimize or eliminate the effects of premature aging.

2, 3, and 4 are almost completely a matter of genes.

It doesn't really matter how many dogs you've trained semi-professionally. Until you get your hands on one genetically identical animal, after another, after another... I don't think you'll fully appreciate how much alike these creatures will be. Additionally, they'll be raised in very similar drug-sniffing environments.

It will be very much similar to driving one 2007 V6 Honda Accord just off the assembly line after another. You'll rarely notice a significant difference from one to the next.