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Biotech Science

More Clones! 43

Posted by michael from the because-the-world-needs-more-mules dept.
randy_harvey writes "Another University has taken the leap into the fray of cloning animals today. This time it's the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID. They have successfully Cloned a Mule!"
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More Clones! More

More Clones!

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  • Why a mule? (Score:5, Funny)

    by henrygb ( 668225 ) on Friday May 30, 2003 @12:35PM (#6078487)
    It will hardly help them discover if a clone can reproduce naturally.

    • Re:Why a mule? (Score:4, Informative)

      by damiangerous ( 218679 ) <1ndt7174ekq80001@sneakemail.com> on Friday May 30, 2003 @12:45PM (#6078590)
      I can think of a couple reasons. First, they believe that all members of the horse family will hold about the same level of difficulty. In that case, why not also get another "first", that being the first cloned hybrid animal. Second, a major university benefactor is a mule racer/breeder/enthusiast. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to please him since there's no drawbacks.

      • Re:Why a mule? (Score:5, Funny)

        by KILNA ( 536949 ) on Friday May 30, 2003 @12:58PM (#6078724) Journal
        Since mules are a cross between a donkey and a horse, would this also be the first half-ass cloning?
      • Another article on this subject noted that the folks who make the rules for thoroughbred racing have already decided that cloning is not alowed. This is to protect the astonishingly lucrative industry of hiring out a star horse to sire others. This might not apply to mule racing.

        Who the hell races mules, anyway?

    • All mules are infertal because they are cross-breeds. So no, they cannot reproduce naturally.

  • Top 6 Reasons to Send in the Clones (Score:5, Funny)

    by AtariAmarok ( 451306 ) on Friday May 30, 2003 @01:00PM (#6078740)
    If you think 6 is too few, clone your own reasons!

    ------------------

    6. Doesn't everyone need a Mini Me?

    5. It would be kind of cool to go to a Halloween party as the Matrix ghost twins, wouldn't it?

    4. If someone clones you without permission, sue them under the DMCA.

    3. You can still sleep in and miss that exam, and take the exam too.

    2. With enough clones, some weapons, and a camcorder, anyone can make a better "Attack of the Clones" movie than George Lucas did

    1. Halle Barry's for everyone!

  • Another view. (Score:2, Funny)

    by FroMan ( 111520 )
    Geesh. The are probably a bunch of jackasses who haven't even thought through the ramifications of this. I could probably preach here all day till I am hoarse about the recklessness that is going on here by these cowboys. They are probably too mule-headed to care though.

  • Finally! (Score:5, Funny)

    by GypC ( 7592 ) on Friday May 30, 2003 @01:08PM (#6078817) Homepage Journal

    A way to get mules that doesn't involve getting a horse drunk enough to jump a donkey!

  • No need to clone mule (Score:4, Funny)

    by lightspawn ( 155347 ) on Friday May 30, 2003 @01:10PM (#6078839) Homepage
    The original runs just fine under several C64 emulators.

    P.S. I heard this on NPR yesterday, so it couldn't have been today.
  • Have you ever actually seen two mules? I wasn't aware there were any that weren't completely identical. Well, if you can't beat'em, join'em...

    /me "clones" a potato
  • Time will tell, but since Funny Cide is a gelding [knoxnews.com], and can't stud, I predict he'll be cloned.

    And just maybe by time this comes to pass the Slashcode search engine will actually be able to find this comment so I can show people. Hmmm, which is more likely? ;)

  • The possibilities are endless! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by stienman ( 51024 ) <adavis&ubasics,com> on Friday May 30, 2003 @02:02PM (#6079396) Homepage Journal
    Now we simply need to have a cow contest to find...

    The World's Tastiest Cow

    At which point we can start cloning it for mass consumption! Imagine, you can now own your very own "World's Tastiest Cow" in your very own back yard! The look on your neighbors face when you tell them you're still considered vegan because this cow has already been killed so when you eat it you can't be killing it - it was cloned dead!

    Moo.

    -Adam
    • Two points:
      1. Cows (as well as every domesticated animal) have already been extensively bred for all the desired characteristics.
      2. An animal can't be "cloned dead". To grow, it has to be living. You could probably remove useless stuff like sex organs (unless you want the milk) or legs, but the cow would still be alive and eating until it grew large enough to be killed for food.
      • Two rebuttals:
        1. Pretty much, yeah, but that still doesn't discount the fact that one cow may taste better than another, despite being raised similarily. If the industry could make all their cows taste like the top 1/3 that they have now cheaply, they would.
        2. I was making a play on the concept that many people feel cloning is bad because either 1) you can't clone the soul/spirit/mind/whatever or 2) cloned animals posses no soul/spirit. My statement alludes to another line of thought where the soul/spir
    • You want the flavor of meat without "killing Bambi"? Try treemeat! [uncoveror.com] Nature with a helping hand.
    • vegan

      If we weren't supposed to eat animals, how come they're all made out of meat?

      -
  • This is an interesting discovery, in that it proved that specific technical limitations could be overcome. However, I don't really buy the reasoning that this discovery could lead to cancer treatments. Just because male horses do not develop prostate cancer, does not mean that there is something special about their cellular physiology per se. Most of the humans that I have heard of that have prostate cancer are over 50. I have not heard of many horses living over 50. I would think that in general h

  • why this doesn't mean people are next. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by NeuroGrrrl ( 673087 ) on Friday May 30, 2003 @02:45PM (#6079827) Homepage
    It seems that every time another mammal is cloned, people reincarnate the debate about the morality of human cloning. Morality aside, the difficulty with human cloning really lies in the current brute-force method of achieving the pregnancies. The team established 14 pregnancies using mule DNA in 113 attempts. Eight of the pregnancies continued to at least the 40-day stage when heartbeats were detected. The 12% chance of getting pregnant at all, followed by the 43% chance that you will miscarry if you do conceive, results in a really difficult job of recruitment. Want human clones? Develop artificial womb.
    • That's not true. The real difficulty in cloning higher mammals is really just a technical difficulty. A key protein needed for chromosome migration during cell division is removed from the cell at the time the DNA is removed. Without that protein, the new cell cannot divide and it is dead before it gets a chance. Once this problem is overcome, human cloning could be much easier. Read about it here: http://www.nature.com/nsu/030407/030407-12.html

  • Mail-order Tleilaxu ghola (Score:3, Funny)

    by Dr. Photo ( 640363 ) on Friday May 30, 2003 @06:23PM (#6081484) Journal
    On the grounds that the mule is a clone, I demand they nickname it Duncan Idaho Gem!
  • This is fine and all, but lets just hope they don't clone The Mule.

  • In (Score:1, Troll)

    by Phosphor3k ( 542747 )
    Soviet Idaho, mules clone you!
  • Nobody reads the good stuff any more? This scientist - he be scowler?

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