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First batch of cloned drug-sniffing dogs get to work in South Korea
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Six drug-sniffing dogs are reporting for duty in Seoul's Incheon International Airport, the BBC reports.
What's special about these pups? They're all identical.
The dogs, all named Toppy (for "Tomorrow's Puppy"), are clones made from the DNA of a "superb" Canadian Labrador retriever in 2007.
Typically, only 10-30% of naturally-born sniffer dogs are actually talented and disciplined enough to work as a drug detector; the South Korean scientists who led the research on the Toppies say that rate could rise to 90% using the cloning method. Indeed, all seven Toppies from the litter passed the initial behavior test administered last spring (one dog was later removed from the program due to an injury).
The work was conducted by scientists at Seoul National University. Team leader Professor Lee Byeong-chun was a key aide to disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk, who led the team that claimed to have created the first cloned dog in 2005, Snuppy. Hwang was later found to have lied about parts of his research but independent tests proved that Snuppy was, indeed, a clone.
The Toppies cost about 300 million won ($239,000 USD) but could eventually lower cime-fighting costs as it is difficult to find good detection dogs.
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