Scientists tries to clone explosive-sniffing police dog

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- A team of South Korean scientists said Thursday they
are close to cloning an explosive-sniffing police dog credited for finding the
body of a missing child on Jeju Island in 2007.
The Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, led by controversial cloning expert Hwang
Woo-suk, said it successfully extracted a somatic cell from "Quinn" in October
and have impregnated a surrogate dog, which is expected to give birth in the
first half of 2010.
Quinn found the body of the missing elementary school student on the island
province 20 minutes after being sent into an orchard and ended a search involving
30,000 personnel. Police said the dog, whose main job is to find hidden
explosives, was deployed after receiving rudimentary training of just three days.
In most cases it takes four to five months for dogs to become good at searching
for people.
The foundation, located in the Seoul suburb of Yongin, said the Jeju Provincial
Police Agency officially requested that its star dog be cloned and that it is
carrying out the work free of charge.
"Quinn had been deployed in 181 missions and preformed admirable service for the
Jeju police," a spokesman for Sooam said.
The institute is considered the foremost leader in the cloning field. It cloned
"Trakr," famous for rescuing victims out of the rubble of the World Trade Center
towers in New York after the 9/11 terrorists attacks, and a wolf for the first
time in the world.
Hwang, a former veterinary professor at Seoul National University, became the
first person in the world to have successfully cloned a dog in 2005. His
reputation, however, took a beating when he was convicted of violating ethics
codes and found to have falsified data related to his supposed creation of the
world's first embryonic stem cell.
The 56-year-old scientist was separately sentenced to a suspended jail term of
two years for embezzling research funds earlier this year. He has filed for an
appeal in that case.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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