World's 1st transgenic dogs born in S. Korea

South Korean scientists claim that they have created the world's first cloned, glowing dogs at Seoul National University. The Korean experts said Tuesday that they engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could possibly help develop cures for human disease. "What's significant in this work is not the dogs expressing red colors but that we planted genes into them," said professor Lee Byeong-chun, head of the research team. According to Lee, scientists in the US, Japan and in Europe had previously cloned fluorescent mice and pigs, but this would be the first time dogs with modified genes have been cloned successfully. He added that six female beagles were born in December 2007 with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow. Two died, but the four others survived. The four dogs, all named "Ruppy" - a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" - look like typical beagles by daylight. The professor stated that the glowing dogs show that it is possible to successfully insert genes with a specific trait through cloning, which could lead to implanting other, non-fluorescent genes that could help treat specific diseases. Meanwhile, veterinary professor Kong Il-keun at South Korea's Gyeongsang National University said that Lee's puppies are genuine clones. "We can appraise this is a step forward" toward finding cures for human diseases, Kong Il-keun said. "What is important now is on what specific diseases [Lee's team] will focus on."