BBC:
Scientists in South Korea say they have successfully completed the world’s first commercial cloning of a pet dog.
Bernann McKinney, from the US state of California, stumped up $50,000 (£25,000) for five identical copies of Booger, her beloved pit bull terrier.
The puppy clones were unveiled at a press conference in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Tuesday.
People get attached to pets, especially cats and dogs. That’s the whole point of having a pet. Some people take it too far, but that’s just my opinion. Sometimes the pet/owner relationship gets a little deeper (not in any pervy sense, just emotionally) when the pet does some heroic deed for the owner, as Booger did when he saved Bernann from a savaging by another dog.
But to say that a clone of any animal will be identical is pure bullshit.
I am no scientist so, as usual am ready to be corrected, but although the animal will have to same DNA, it will have a resemblance to the original, but will not be the same.
[Bernann] said: “Booger had a kindness in his heart and I believe that kindness is something that can be, I don’t want to use the word reproduced, but the best way Dr Lee explained it is we can give him his body, you are going to give him the love and environment to recreate the original Booger’s personality.”
You see, it’s not just about the genes, it’s about the environment too. Food, exercise, climate, experiences will all have an effect on the likes and dislikes, growth rate, attitudes and everything else that will shape the personality of those dogs. And ultimatley people who are cloned, if it goes that far.
Even if all things are equal, genes can still make differences. That’s what cancers and tumours are.
As heart warming as this story is, this woman has either been mis-sold or not had her expectations properly tempered. A personality is unique, whether it is an animal or a person, and that, cannot be recreated.
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