DNA: Yes, Snuppy is definitely a clone

Seoul National University scientists investigating the work of disgraced cloning pioneer Woo Suk Hwang have found Snuppy is a genuine cloned dog.

The investigators looking at the Afghan hound unveiled by Hwang's team as the world's first cloned dog said they obtained evidence proving Snuppy was created using cloning techniques.

The scandal surrounding Hwang's discredited human-embryo cloning work led to a full investigation amid doubts over the validity of his other work.

The university's investigative committee, writing in the journal Nature, said DNA analysis of blood samples from Snuppy, Tai -- Snuppy's nuclear DNA donor -- and the surrogate mother, as well as lung tissue from the oocyte donor, show Snuppy was created by introducing nuclear DNA from Tai into an empty egg.

U.S. researchers led by Elaine Ostrander of the National Institutes of Health also confirm Snuppy's cloned status. "Our analysis rules out most feasible alternatives to a true clone," the U.S. researchers wrote in the journal Nature.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International