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Pet clones for sale
I guess with all the advances in stem cells in the last few years (see “Major breakthrough in stem cell science”, “Memory improved by stem cell transplantation” and “Aggregate scientist reports spinal repair breakthrough”), it was only a matter of time before companies began offering cloned pets for sale. Enter RNL Bio Co., a South Korean biotechnology company.
Affiliated with Seoul National University, famous for creating the world’s first cloned dog, SNUppy, RNL received its first order last week from a California woman in her 50′s who wants to clone her deceased pit bull terrier. Since she’s the first customer, she was given the cheap price of $50,000. For the rest of us it will be $148,000 but those prices should go down as technology advances. The process of creating the first pet clone in the world will begin just over a month from now, in April.
“These days, dogs are treated like family members. There are many owners who would rather clone a favourite pet than adopt a new one after it dies,” said RNL Bio president Ra Jeong-chan.
Dogs are considered one of the most difficult mammals to clone because of their unpredictable reproductive cycle as well as difficulties in inducing ovulation and fertilizing eggs in the laboratory. RNL plans to clone about 30 puppies a year and increase that number to 200 by 2010. However, due to the high cost associated with pet cloning, RNL will mainly be producing these animal clones for medical and security purposes such as for drug-sniffing and seeing-eye dogs. Horse racing and pet shows may become a thing of the past as owners simply clone their winners.
What’s coming next, you ask? The world’s first attempt to clone a monkey. Watch for the results as they’re coming out this year. Good news for those with pet monkeys!
Read more:
“Firm takes order for a cloned dog”, Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2008
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http://www.marslanding.ca John Kelly
Lincoln Kim @ MaRS
Lincoln Kim is a member of the healthcare and life sciences team of the MaRS Venture Group. He evaluates and supports the development of technology platforms and commercial market opportunities of start up and emerging companies, facilitates collaboration among research groups and between research scientists and industry.
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