'Walkies' through dog genome
By Jonathan Amos
Scientists have had a fast read through of the dog genome, the code that describes how man's best
friend is put together.
It is not a complete guide to canine genetics - that will come later - but the study has thrown up
some interesting facts that will prove useful pointers for researchers looking into human and
animal disease.
One such nugget is the realisation that 75% of the genes we think are in humans also appear to
be in dogs.
And perhaps not surprisingly there is also clear evidence substantial numbers of canine genes are
employed by the olfactory system - the animal's sense of smell.
"We estimate the dog looks more like the mouse in terms of the number of its olfactory receptors but
it also appears that the dog may also have unique subfamilies of these receptors," Dr Ewen Kirkness,
one of the scientists involved in the study, told BBC News Online.
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Rat called Ralph is latest clone
Scientists have succeeded in cloning the rat.
The researchers from China and France say they managed to create several rodent copies - both male
and female.
The rat joins a lengthening list of animals that have been cloned from an adult cell.
These include sheep, mice, cattle, goats, pigs, cats, mules and horses.
The rat has come later than the others because of unique difficulties in controlling the development
of its eggs in the early stages of the cloning process.
Rat eggs activate almost immediately they leave the ovaries, making it difficult to introduce the
genetic material of the animal to be copied.
In a paper published online by the journal Science, Qi Zhou and colleagues describe how the use of a
chemical at a key moment can stabilise the eggs, so leading to successful embryos that will implant
in a surrogate mother.
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Kind Regards, Robert Karl Stonjek.