I Wanna Be Your Dog

South Korean scientists have announced that they have produced the world’s first cloned dog at Seoul Nation University. The Afghan, named Snuppy (the “Seoul National University puppy,” get it?), was actually born sixteen weeks ago, but like any nervous first time mother, lead researcher Woo Suk-hwang kept the dog’s existence a secret until the precarious 60-day pregnancy and the subsequent weaning period reached its conclusion. The process of cloning a dog is, apparently, a very difficult process, and one that I have little interest in delving into, aside from the fact that the puppy was generated from cells taken from another dog’s ear and that its surrogate mother was a lovely yellow lab (pictured above, right, with Snuppy). Read on, if you wish to know more about the science and politics of the whole cloning issue and then immediately commence making any “Korean BBQ” and “Dr. Suk-hwang” jokes you feel are appropriate.