Another cloned dog, now a cancer sniffer
According to the Independent On-Line, the Japanese training center for dogs that detect cancerous tumors by smell is cloning one of its wards at the Korean biotech company RNL Bio. According to the president of the company, Ra Jeong-Chan, the appearance of clone puppies is expected at the end of May.
Embryos cloned from the skin cells of a female black Labrador retriever named Marin were implanted into a surrogate dog mother in April. Six-year-old Marin became infertile after the removal of the uterus due to illness.
The owner of the dog, the chief cynologist of the Japanese dog training center in Shirahama Yuji Satoh (Yuji Satoh) said that Marin's ability to identify cancer cells is considered the best in the world. He also believes that cloning her will draw attention to such a cancer diagnosis.
According to the agreement between Sato and RNL Bio, two clones will be created. After birth, the puppies will be trained at a Japanese center, and then one of them will return to South Korea for further study. With the success of the enterprise, it is planned to create more clones of Marin to be sent to organizations in different countries that study cancer diagnosis with the help of dogs.
This diagnosis is based on the assumption that cancer cells emit a specific odor that is not inherent in healthy cells. Dogs with a fine sense of smell can distinguish this smell at the earliest stages of the disease.