Cloning is more difficult for some species than for others. From what I know, dog cloning is extremely difficult. The defunct pet cloning company Genetic Savings & Clone spent millions trying to do it. As for the emotional state of the clients, sounds like you're saying there's no rational reason to want to clone a dog? What if you have a neutered mutt of unknown parentage, and you've owned or known a lot of different canine breeds and mixes in the past, and you think your current mutt is the best -- perfectly suited to your preference and your image of the ideal dog. That's a subjective opinion, to be sure, though the dog may also be unusually intelligent, athletic, healthy, etc. With conventional breeding options, you'd be hard pressed to get another dog with that same mix. With cloning, you'll get that exact same mix again -- pretty impressive in my opinion.
I'm willing to bet that the people who get these cloned pets won't get what they bargained for. Keep your money. About halfway through this video you can hear Liam Lynch talk about what he got when he cloned his cat:
http://www.podnova.com/channel/24475/episode/39/
There is no promise your pet is going to be the same pet that left you. You're right -- there's a promise that it WON'T be! "We decline business from people who want us to bring specific pets back to life. Nobody can do that." http://bestfriendsagain.com/about/faq.html
To me this spits in the face of nature. Wait a minute, to post that message you had to use the internet. The internet spits in the face of nature!
Not that I am against cloning, but to think you can bring a loved one... even in part back from the dead is a tragic notion. Not that I'm against computers, but to think porn stars will step out of your computer and marry you is a tragic notion. What's that you say? My notion of computers is narrow and clueless?
Most pet owners have suffered the loss of a very dear and special pet. And while owners would like to keep their dear friend with them forever, very few would actually go so far as to entertain the idea of cloning. Is there anybody out there capable of talking about cloning WITHOUT referring to The 6th Day fantasy of cloning? People please get over that movie! Cloning has nothing to do with keeping your dear friend with you forever! Cloning is amazingly cool, but people keep dumping this weird fantasy on top of it, then spending all their time talking about how the fantasy is sad and wrong. That is getting BORING. Can we talk about the REALITY of cloning? You can make an identical twin of your favorite pet! That is COOL. Will the new pet "remember" you? Of course not, so what? Will the new pet resemble the old pet? Heck yeah!!! Will the new pet be a unique individual? Of course. Will the new pet be related to the old pet? Um, totally!
Even worse animal that have been cloned often have severe health problems, and a short life expectancy. The short clone life expectancy myth is, um, a myth. See http://www.fda.gov/cvm/CloningRA_Myths_Final.htm
isn't genetically descended almost identical to genetically-identical in practical terms? Not for someone who wants a new dog with the same genes as the old dog. If the old dog can breed, the result will be a new dog with half his/her genes, but 1. the old dog may be unable to breed (spayed/neutered, beyond breeding age, or dead) and 2. people who are interested in cloning want a new dog with the same genes, not just half the genes.
Your cloned dog is not likely to look or behave like your previous dog (without training anyway). Huh? Why do you think a cloned dog won't look like the previous dog? It'll look like the previous dog's twin!
How can it realistically be called a clone, if they're just breeding a new dog "based on" the original's DNA ? It's not a true clone, by my standards. Um, what is your standard for what a true clone is? Scientists and journalists have been using the word to refer to animals produced via somatic cell nuclear transfer, and it looks like that's how BioArts is using it too.
Well, if what you're looking for is a new dog with the same genetic endowment as the old dog, does it matter that behavior is only partially determined by genetics? In the movie The 6th Day (which seems to be where most people get their cloning info) the point of cloning was that when a full-grown organism died due to being riddled with bullets or run over by a car, you could make a full-grown replacement that's INDISTINGUISHABLE from its predecessor. But anyone prepared to pop six figures for dog cloning probably has done at least five minutes of homework on the subject and knows that what he/she is gonna get is a later-born identical twin -- yeah it'll have the same genetic predisposition to certain behaviors as its predecessor did, but no it's not gonna BE THE SAME ANIMAL. For the sci fi crowd that must be a disappointment, but for the people who WANT a twin of a favorite pet it probably sounds terrific, no?
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Cloning is more difficult for some species than for others. From what I know, dog cloning is extremely difficult. The defunct pet cloning company Genetic Savings & Clone spent millions trying to do it. As for the emotional state of the clients, sounds like you're saying there's no rational reason to want to clone a dog? What if you have a neutered mutt of unknown parentage, and you've owned or known a lot of different canine breeds and mixes in the past, and you think your current mutt is the best -- perfectly suited to your preference and your image of the ideal dog. That's a subjective opinion, to be sure, though the dog may also be unusually intelligent, athletic, healthy, etc. With conventional breeding options, you'd be hard pressed to get another dog with that same mix. With cloning, you'll get that exact same mix again -- pretty impressive in my opinion.
Yeah I had a bad hamburger once. I guess all hamburgers are bad. Meanwhile Liam Lynch seems to dig his cloned cat. Here's a podcast about his decision to clone his cat: http://www.podnova.com/channel/24475/episode/29/ And here's another one where he talks about the results (that part starts a little over halfway through): http://www.podnova.com/channel/24475/episode/39/
Amen
Well, if what you're looking for is a new dog with the same genetic endowment as the old dog, does it matter that behavior is only partially determined by genetics? In the movie The 6th Day (which seems to be where most people get their cloning info) the point of cloning was that when a full-grown organism died due to being riddled with bullets or run over by a car, you could make a full-grown replacement that's INDISTINGUISHABLE from its predecessor. But anyone prepared to pop six figures for dog cloning probably has done at least five minutes of homework on the subject and knows that what he/she is gonna get is a later-born identical twin -- yeah it'll have the same genetic predisposition to certain behaviors as its predecessor did, but no it's not gonna BE THE SAME ANIMAL. For the sci fi crowd that must be a disappointment, but for the people who WANT a twin of a favorite pet it probably sounds terrific, no?
Problem is, RNL Bio isn't "licensed to clone": http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2890020 BioArts International, on the other hand, is: http://www.bioarts.com/downloads/BAI_PressRelease_5-15-08.pdf