SKorean scientists claim more dog clones

SEOUL - South Korean scientists credited with helping to produce the world's first cloned dog say they have cloned three more puppies of the same species, reports said Sunday.

Lee Byung-Chun, a former colleague of disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-Suk, has cloned three more Afghan Hounds using the same technique that helped him make the first clone, Yonhap news agency said.

Lee, a veterinary professor at Seoul National University, played a key role in carrying out the world's first successful cloning of a dog by creating a duplicate of a three-year-old Afghan Hound.

Experts said the copycat canine, called Snuppy, was genetically identical to his father. But Lee was deprived of his right to teach students for five months for his part in fabricated papers later produced by Hwang.

Lee's team cloned the three female puppies in June and July, Yonhap said.

He first cloned fertilized eggs by injecting oocytes, or reproductive germ cells, from a female Afghan Hound into procured ovums, it said, adding the cloned puppies were genetically identical to the cell donor.

Lee plans to utilize the breakthrough in producing cell treatment drugs and to apply the technology in preserving animals on the verge of extinction, Yonnap said.

"There needs to be a consistent investment in the field, as canine cloning studies are nearing a practical level with a higher success rate," he was quoted as saying.

Lee has led his own research team since Hwang was indicted in May for fraud, embezzlement, ethical breaches and other charges.

Hwang, once hailed as a national hero before a university inquiry ruled his work was fake, is on trial for embezzlement and fake research but has insisted that he could still prove he created the first cloned human stem cells.

The government has banned Hwang from research using human eggs after his claims that he created the first human stem cells through cloning were ruled to be bogus in January.

Agence France-Presse