Attack of the dog clone

[pendell]

Link (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28892792/?GT1=43001)



The miracle of life made an encore for Edgar and Nina Otto. A year after their beloved yellow Labrador retriever, Lancelot, died of cancer, the Florida couple welcomed a cloned copy into their home Tuesday. They’ve dubbed their doggie double “Lancelot Encore.”


Elapsed cost: $155K.

Almost as significant as what the article says is what it does not say.

It does NOT say that the dog has been genetically altered to be totally obedient, taking any order without question.

It doesn't *say* that this is part of a secret plan to instigate a brutal war using dogs as soldiers, culminating in Revenge upon Catkind.

But then .. they wouldn't, now would they?

:)

Tongue-in-cheek,

Brian P.

[Flame of Anor]

Why would the dog be the same? Move on with your life, Ottos! You should have learned from Gilgamesh! Paying a hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars for this is just obscene. :smallmad:

[TheBST]

Is this what happens to your mind if you reach old age without having children? Jesus...

On the other hand, 'Encore'? Like it.

[Da Beast]

Aren't clones effectively aged to the point at which the DNA was taken from the original? If so then they paid 150k for a dog the only has a few years before it dies again.

[Serpentine]

Aren't clones effectively aged to the point at which the DNA was taken from the original? If so then they paid 150k for a dog the only has a few years before it dies again.Not necessarily. If the dog was, say, 8 when it got cancer and died, it could still have a number of years left. 'course, I think that whole thing is pretty complex, and I don't know that they've really figured it all out. It will, however, have the other dog's same predisposition to cancer.
I wonder, more, how many embryos it took to get this puppy... If they got it right the first time, then that is a massive break-through.

[turkishproverb]

Well the idea came from the fact existing clones were seen to have accelerated aging and high cancer rates. As this one is still fairly young, it is hard to say if that will happen.

[Groundhog]

Aren't clones effectively aged to the point at which the DNA was taken from the original? If so then they paid 150k for a dog the only has a few years before it dies again.

Not necessarily. That was why Dolly the sheep died so early, but if they're messing around with genes anyway, they could have added to the telomeres, which would un-age the DNA.

(Telomeres: Long stretches of DNA that are just one base pair, they don't code for anything, they're just there so that when little bits of DNA fall off the ends of a chromosome during DNA replication it doesn't affect the actual genes.)

[thubby]

the DNA used to clone was taken 6 years ago. the dog would have been incredibly young, so i don't see aging as too big an issue

[Athaniar]

Just to note: the dog is not the same dog. It is a physically very similar dog. Also, I can see this thread delve into forbidden territory very fast.

[Dallas-Dakota]

>>
<<

Am I the only one who first tread it as 'Attack of the dog clown' ?

:smalltongue: