Clone wars casualty

February 14, 2003 10:10 AM

That business plan for 'Re-Pet' may have to wait a bit longer yet.
posted by psmealey (21 comments total)

She'll be missed.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:13 AM on February 14, 2003

weird headline....'cloning pioneer dolly put to death', makes it sound like Dolly was the scientist and has been killed for doing cloning research...subliminal hopeful thinking? ah well.

RIP dolly. say hello to Oolong for us.
posted by th3ph17 at 10:19 AM on February 14, 2003

That business plan for 'Re-Pet' may have to wait a bit longer yet

We also would have accepted Goodbye, Dolly, Well Goodbye, Dolly...
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 10:20 AM on February 14, 2003

So aside from the early arthritis, unusual lung infection and short lifespan this cloning stuff is basically ok?
posted by jeremias at 10:39 AM on February 14, 2003

Well, it can provide us with sets of matching lambchops for those really elegant dinner parties.
posted by orange swan at 10:42 AM on February 14, 2003

Mutton, honey.
posted by yhbc at 10:43 AM on February 14, 2003

I don't know that the somewhat early demise of Miss Dolly necessarily invalidates current cloning techniques anymore so than the premature death of homo sapiens invalidates current reproductive techniques.

I mean, damn -- its one data point.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 11:19 AM on February 14, 2003

One data point, on research that started, what, five years ago? Surely there's been some progress in technology and process since then? Or have the various bans and restrictions put that much of a damper on research?

Damn luddite sensationalism. I want my wendyburgers!
posted by majcher at 11:44 AM on February 14, 2003

I mean, damn -- its one data point.

But I'm so smart, one data point is all I need to draw my conclusions.

RIP, Dolly. Peace and mint jelly be with you.
posted by RylandDotNet at 11:58 AM on February 14, 2003

Yet another weird omen. Goodbye Dolly.
posted by 111 at 12:03 PM on February 14, 2003

Well, I don't see how it matters. They can just clone her again.
posted by Slagman at 12:18 PM on February 14, 2003

These problems wouldn't seem to effect theraputic cloning so much, and it could still be useful for disease treatment, too bad it's illegal.
posted by rhyax at 12:21 PM on February 14, 2003

I'm with Slagman, Dolly 2.0 will own us all.
For some reason my brain keeps chanting:
"Dolly is dead! Long live Dolly!"

on preview: rhyax, it is illegal in America, but I'm sure Monsanto or Imclone or somebody is working on this on some uncharted private island.
posted by elwoodwiles at 12:27 PM on February 14, 2003

Would I be pelted with offal and scrap building materials if I uttered the dread word 'Newsfilter'? If the FPP had also offered a link to the business plan (or anything else related to) Re-Pet, that might keep it from being a purely a (cutely phrased but misleading) link to a front page story being currently being carried on every news service on the web.
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:02 PM on February 14, 2003

This "newsfilter" - is it something that you need the webernets to know about?
posted by majcher at 1:22 PM on February 14, 2003

She's not dead--she just went on the lamb.
posted by vraxoin at 2:10 PM on February 14, 2003

> I'm sure Monsanto or Imclone or somebody is working on
> this on some uncharted private island.

This one?
posted by jfuller at 2:36 PM on February 14, 2003

So what is the appropriate age for a cloned sheep to develop arthritis?
posted by blue_beetle at 3:13 PM on February 14, 2003

Isn't this sort of a profound discovery? That somehow all the cells that came from the cloned cell *know* they were already six years old, and the entire body behaves accordingly. How do they know? Some genetic switch? If so, what happens if you turn it off?

You guys are thinking small with this cloning stuff, I'm talking some Ponce de Leon shit here.
posted by malphigian at 3:43 PM on February 14, 2003

How old do sheep usually live ?
posted by zeoslap at 8:20 AM on February 15, 2003

Well googling my last question the Dolly death does seem like a big deal. Sheep typically live 10-12 years which is Dollys genetic age. It's also noteworthy that it was know that her telomeres (bits of buffer info on the end of dna that gets chopped with every cell division) were shorter than normal (i.e already as short as a 6 year old sheep) so it seems like yes the cells acted like those of an old sheep from the beginning
posted by zeoslap at 8:28 AM on February 15, 2003