Gem the cocker spaniel: How the British are circumnavigating the country’s cloning ban

At first glance, Gem is simply a very happy spaniel. With a plush toy in her mouth, she is the embodiment of joy. But her straightforward demeanour belies the complexities of her origins. Because Gem is not your typical dog: she is a clone.

Ever since Dolly the sheep – the first mammal to be cloned using an adult cell – was revealed to the world in 1996, debate has raged over the potential for the technology and its ethical implications.

“Gem is actually a present from one of our clients because she’s a clone of a working cocker spaniel,” says Lucy Morgan, the manager of the UK-based company Gemini Genetics.

…

Related on the SLP

No related posts.

Viewpoint: RFK Jr. touts AI to guide health care…but searches using the technology he champions expose him as scientifically illiterate

Viewpoint: ‘Bureaucratic and economic obstacles’ to agricultural biotechnology: Europe creeps into the 21st century, but blocks remain

Viewpoint: How the anti-abortion movement twists medical facts and promotes science misinformation

Yet cloning animals is banned in the UK, except for research purposes. Even then, Home Office approval is required. As a result, Gemini Genetics does not conduct cloning itself – but it does facilitate the process, and has done so for about 30 such animals so far.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here