Family Dog Cloned, Thanks To Dolly Patents

patentpundit writes "BioArts International announced today that they have delivered the world's first commercially cloned dog, a 10-week old Labrador named Lancey, to Florida residents Edgar and Nina Otto. According to the press release issued by the company, 'BioArts International is a biotech company focused on unique, untapped markets in the global companion animal, stem cell and human genomics industries. The Best Friends Again program is a collaboration between BioArts and the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in South Korea, home to the best and most experienced dog cloning team in the world.' The technology that makes this animal cloning possible stems from the cloning patents developed at the Roslin Institute for the cloning of the now famous, or infamous depending on your view, Dolly the sheep."

Comments

Why?

[gnick]

A race horse or some prized show animal I could maybe understand. But what's the point of cloning a companion animal?

Re:Why?

[Anonymous Monkey]

Because that was the best tasting dog ever and I want seconds.

Re:Why?

[cayenne8]

"A race horse or some prized show animal I could maybe understand. But what's the point of cloning a companion animal?"

If you have to ask, then you couldn't possibly understand.

I dunno about cat people, but, as a 'dog person'...I can tell you that my animals really have become a part of the family. They aren't treated like 'dogs' or animals, they are really more just little fuzzy people that don't talk much in our homes.

When I lose my pups....I grieve over them like I would a friend or family member that is close to me.

In fact...I've often though, if you don't feel this way about your pets....why own one?

Re:Why?

[gnick]

I understand loving your pets. I love my dog and, when he goes, it will be exceeding painful. If I could have him return as a puppy when he dies it would be great.

But genetically identical != same dog. The fact that I don't need a clone doesn't mean I don't love my dog, just that I accept that he'll die one day and that nothing (not even cloning) will bring him back. Well... Maybe burying him in that old Indian burial ground a short hike from my back yard... But that just seems like I'd be asking for trouble.

Re:Why?

[stokessd]

The old and tired bumper sticker sums it up nicely:

"The more people I meet, the more I like my dog"

My dogs and cat are members of the family. I'd throw my neighbor's sprogs under a train to save my dog.

But with so many animals in shelters, it seems a bit odd to clone one (other than to say you can). Go give a new one a good home.

Sheldon

Re:Why?

[jollyreaper]

Because that was the best tasting dog ever and I want seconds.

Watch out, this guy can probably kick your ass at Starcraft, too.

Re:Why?

[SatanicPuppy]

I think trying to xerox the dog kinda misses the point. You're going to spend the entire dogs life wondering why he's not exactly like his progenitor.

Get a new dog, and you can keep your good memories of the previous dog untainted.

Re:Why?

[alexborges]

Yes yes, this is precisely the point.

A dog is a guy, one loves them. True. But they are an experience that changes your life.

What you want to do if you loose a great companion dog is grieve... and then, when youre ready, go and have a new adventure with a new dog! Why the exact same genome?

The genome means nothing to human emotions. Nothing at all. We can adopt and love our children as our own. We can love people that are not in our family and will never be.

The genome is only a code that generaly states how the hell the thingie will look, what diseases it inherits, what inheritable strenghts can it inherit. But its not, at all, the same individual (it really CANT be the same individual, you see? Not in this universe. To quote Dr. House "ive complained, but there you have it").

Re:Why?

[gnick]

Not at all the case. I love my dog dearly (the cats are OK too I guess...) But that's really part of the problem I see with this.

I accept that you love your pets and accept them as members of your family. That's great and I understand completely - I'm in the same boat. But, if another member of your family died, would you also clone them? Cloning a beloved pet only strikes me as slightly less creepy than cloning a beloved child that died too early...

Like I said in a post above, genetically identical != same animal. We (typically) outlive our pets. That's just the way it is. Forming an emotional bond to an animal just because it shares genes with an animal that you loved just seems unhealthy.

Re:Why?

[yancey]

Think of it as very expensive therapy. Having something that looks similar, but does not have the same personality should gradually allow the owner to let go.

Re:Why?

[e2d2]

You want to have a good laugh? Walk into a shelter and ask for 55 lbs of cat.

Re:Why?

[Hal_Porter]

When I was in Korea there was an English punk fanzine that run a phrasebook every now and again. One of the entries was "Dog eating savages!", clearly a handy phrase to know in Korean.

Re:Why?

[garett_spencley]

I realize you're being funny, but in the true geek spirit, and being someone who loves to cook and has considered changing careers and becoming a chef, I can not resist the urge to get serious and rip this hypothesis apart.

There are actually a lot of factors, outside of the breed, that influence the taste of meat. The feed being the most important. So we'll assume that you feed it the exact same diet (and that the manufacturer of said feed does not alter it's ingredients). Then hope that the dog never gets sick and requires medication. But then, maybe your original dog got sick and needed medication and that contributed somewhat to it's flavour. Environmental conditions also play a vital role. Did the dog get lots of exercise ? Muscle strength contributes immensely to the texture, tenderness and flavour of the meat. Was the dog ever abused (maybe a previous owner) ? Stress releases all kinds of hormones and chemicals in the body that can affect flavour. Leave the dog alone for a day, get him all worked up and upset, and come back to have a completely different tasting animal.

Farmers who compete on quality and taste (as oppose to cost) have come up with all kinds of theories and practices (some proven, some superstitions, some plausible but untested) that they claim gives their meat a superior taste and texture. For example, some cow farmers actually massage their meat with electric massagers, claiming it produces more tender beef.

Ultimately I must side with the GP. Cloned Animal != Same Animal.

Re:Why?

[e2d2]

Nonsense. The dog spirit transfers from one body to the next just like any other. I should know, in my last life I was a malamute. At least, that's my excuse when I play with my balls.

Re:Why?

[garett_spencley]

Actually, yes :(

I would never buy meat from a farmer that does that, but in some parts of the world they do truly sick things to the animals (like skinning them alive) because they think it makes the meat taste better.

One extremely popular food that could count as an example is Foie Gras. It's duck liver (though you can get Foie Gras from other animals but unless you specify what animal then duck is usually assumed) that has been artificially enlarged via force feeding the animal. Whether or not gorging is actually uncomfortable for the animal is debatable (I have heard plausible arguments from people claiming that fowl will actually self-gorge before migration, and anecdotes from farmers who claimed the animals actually LIKE it), but it has been banned in some parts of the world because the gorging is seen as animal abuse.

Re:Why?

[LWATCDR]

I agree. My wive adopted a rescue puppy that we a breeder at a puppy mill. She was the most loving animal you have ever seen.
We lost her after only a year because of kidney failure. Both my wife and I where heart broken. Three weeks later my wife and went to our local shelter and found this really sweet 10 month old puppy. She seemed to fall in love with my wife and now is a great member of our family.
I wish I could have brought back my old dog and give her a good life from beginning to end. Even with cloning I can not.
If you really are a dog person and lose your pet then I would suggest that the best way to show your love is to go to a shelter and give one of those dogs a good home.

Re:Why?

[Adult film producer]

There is a natural (organic if you want to call it that) foie gras that the spaniards market.. it's a regional duckling that gorges on the local feed before moving on. The livers are not nearly as big and the flavor isn't quite the same as force fed foie gras. Besides that, the force feeding of these ducks isn't as horrible as some people make it out to be. They just open the mouth and stick a tube down the throat, filling their tummy up with beans and stuff.. takes 4 seconds and the bird hardly makes a noise (with this happening several times a day for a couple of weeks before slaughter.) I'm sure there are some youtube videos that show it.

Re:Why?

[Spellvexit]

A Korean friend of mine told me about how very once and a while her family would take a trip out to the country, and one of their haunts was a place quite near a "dog farm." Apparently, the meat is tastier when engorged with blood, but that doesn't happen well unless the animal is tenderized while alive. So occasionally their peaceful trips to the country would be punctuated by the yelping and keening of dogs being beaten to death, simply to enhance flavor.

The Korean taste for dog is probably over-exaggerated over here, but there's apparently a (quite brutal) market for it over there. Thankfully my friend was not a consumer, but honestly, I'd think a trip to the country like that would put off quite a few potential dog-eaters!

Re:Why?

[commodoresloat]

You want to have a good laugh? Walk into a shelter and ask for 55 lbs of cat.

Why would they have that much pussy laying around a homeless shelter?

Re:Why?

[alc6379]

Heck, bull baiting, the practice of tying a bull to a post, then sicking attack dogs on it, was once mandatory in Great Britain. The reasoning behind the practice was that baited bull meat was considered to taste better.

Of course, this practice was banned, but it just goes to show you that there's nothing new under the sun.

Would that be...

[rodney dill]

K-10 then?

Re:Would that be...

[morgan_greywolf]

ADD 1 TO K GIVING K

Its not the same pet, folks...

[tnk1]

It may look the same, but its not the same.

Heck, the pet may not even look the same, depending on if some of the factors in coloration are environmentally induced.

More importantly, behavior is very much a factor of the pet's environment. It certainly isn't going to know who you are without the same amount of work you'd have to put into a puppy or another dog.

I'm not totally against cloning technologies, but I wish people would invest in shelter dogs instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars to add another animal to the existing population. Your old pet had a good life with you, why don't you share that with a pet who never had the same chance?

Re:Its not the same pet, folks...

[ianare]

You could use the same logic for many other things :

• Why go to a fancy restaurant when so many people are hungry ?
• Why have a baby when you could adopt ?
• Why drive a SUV instead of compact when 90% of the time you are in it by yourself ?
• Why alienate your family working long hours, when you already have millions in the bank ?
• Why spend $10 000 on shoes, when some people go barefoot their entire lives ?

And in the end, the only real answer is : "Because it makes me happy"

Re:Its not the same pet, folks...

[kungfugleek]

And in the end, the only real answer is : "Because it makes me happy"

But you also need the follow-on supporting thought: "And my happiness is more important than everybody else's."

Re:Its not the same pet, folks...

[mewshi_nya]

1) By nature, cloning a dog creates a new dog and eliminates the opportunity another dog could have. Eating at a restaurant, on the other, only deprives the establishment of food, food which the hungry masses wouldn't get in time anyway.

2) It's a biological thing to want to have a baby of your own (however, I really think more people on should be adopting)

3) Again, doesn't deprive anyone of anything material - only of clean air.

4) Because to some people, those extra 0s on the bank statement are primary, the kids and wife secondary.

5) Still doesn't deprive anyone of anything.

They probably just scammed them

[elrous0]

"Jim, find a puppy that looks like this one in the picture and we'll split $155,000."

So the patents cloned a dog?

[Gerzel]

Wow I didn't know IP laws could get up and work in a lab much less do genetic/biologic engineering.

Ummm

[FirstNoel]

I have a cat that nags and had a dog that scolded. Pets can give you just as much shit (literally and figuratively) as any other member of the family. But they keep coming back... Now they can keep coming back forever. Sean D.