Five clones were born.
RNL Bio, Co, Ltd, a company dedicated to the development of stem cell therapeutics and the commercialization of dog cloning technology announced today that the firm successfully cloned an American woman’s pet dog, Booger. Five clones were born on July 28, 2008.
One clone was born from one surrogate mother and four from another. Prof. Byeong-Chun Lee identified the puppies as the genuine clones and a reconfirmation is currently being conducted by The Department of Forensic Medicine at Seoul National University’s College of Medicine.
Bernann originally contacted an American company named Genetic Savings and Clone (GSC) for the cloning of Booger. She sent Booger’s tissue to GSC a month before Booger died in April 2006. GSC mission was to commercialize the cat cloning technology and followed by dog cloning. GSC failed to acquire any dog cloning technology and thus notified Bernann of the company’s dissolution in Sep 2006. Desperate, she tried to find real cloning scientists and was finally able to reach Seoul National University and RNL Bio.
Per her request, scientists from SNU and RNL visited her and took a skin sample from Booger for identification. They received Booger’s live cells from a US company where the cells had been preserved. Scientists brought them to Seoul on Mar 2nd 2008. After approved by the IRB of SNU, the cloning project launched early May 2008.
SNU and RNL successfully cloned Booger in only 70 days (including the two month gestation period), which made new history in dog cloning. RNL and Bernann will discuss the possibility of training some of the five clones as service dogs for the handicapped or elderly.
RNL Bio is commencing its world-wide dog cloning services with Booger as its first successful clone. Anyone who is interested in cloning dog is asked to contact RNL Bio in South Korea (www.rnl.co.kr ) or RNL Biostar in the US. Blood or tissue samples from already deceased dogs are not adequate for cloning. Fresh tissue biopsys immediately sent to RNL or live cells under cryo-
preservation condition in liquid nitrogen at -196 ℃ are eligible for dog cloning.
Dr. Jeong-Chan Ra, DVM, Ph.D. who serves as President and CEO of RNL, said “RNL Bio guarantees the quick and safe cloning of your dog. RNL’s dog cloning is under ethical review by School of Veterinary Medicine of SNU, preventing any indiscreet cloning attempt.
“Anyone or any organization including BioArts that is marketing dog cloning in the US is welcome to order dog cloning from us. RNL is the only firm licensed exclusively to offer dog cloning. We plan to take legal action against scientists who were fired by SNU due to ethical issues and have attempted unlawful dog cloning. They are blatantly infringing on the SNU patents” Dr. Ra added
RNL immediately notified Bernann of the news of five healthy puppies, she said “Oh my Gosh, I can’t believe it. We’ve got five Boogers. I am so happy. God heard me and responded to my prayers. I am so excited and thrilled. I want to celebrate my birthday, Aug 6th, with five Boogers in Seoul, Korea.”
From last May, RNL has operated a successful banking system for the preservation of fat stem cells for pets and it plans to start offering banking services for both stem cells and somatic cells in October of this year.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
