Posted by SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases. The four dogs, all named “Ruppy” _ a combination of the words “ruby” and “puppy” _ look like typical beagles by daylight.
But they glow red under ultraviolet light, and the dogs’ nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the naked eye.
Seoul National University professor Lee Byeong-chun, head of the research team, called them the world’s first transgenic dogs carrying fluorescent genes, an achievement that goes beyond just the glowing novelty.
“What’s significant in this work is not the dogs expressing red colors but that we planted genes into them,” Lee told The AP on Tuesday.
His team identified the dogs as clones of a cell donor through DNA tests and earlier this month introduced the achievement in a paper on the Web site of the journal “Genesis.”
You can watch a video of the Ruppy (ruby-puppies) here.
If South Korea and cloned dogs sound familiar, you’re right. Scientists there have been associated with a couple different events, including:
- In August 2008, Joyce Bernann McKinney had her dead dog cloned into puppies in Seoul. McKinney’s relative fame associated with that event landed her in some hot water, however, as authorities from both England and Tennessee wanted to question her in two separate crimes.
- Scientists also created Snuppy, whose name stands for Seoul National University puppy, who was made from a cell taken from the ear of a three-year-old male Afghan hound.
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Photos: The world’s first transgenic female beagle dogs carry fluorescent genes that make the canines–all named Ruppy–glow red.
Credit: Seoul National University
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